kebabs, the lamb for the first time in decades. tte: kebabs, the lamb burgers, the koftas of the people of the united states will be supplied at last by britain and a fantasticjuicy cuts of welsh bmb and a fantasticjuicy cuts of welsh lamb and everything else. a high court injunction to stop the protestors who've been causing chaos on the m25 — they could now face imprisonment. in deep water — a warning many of our swimming pools could close by the end of the decade without urgent modernisation. hello and welcome to bbc news. the government is warning that hype gas prices will be here for some time to come. the business secretary, kwasi kwarteng, said today "we have to prepare for longer—term high prices". only a few days ago, the prime minister said the current crisis caused by the rising cost of wholesale gas was "temporary". meanwhile, it's been revealed the government could pay tens of millions of pounds to an american—owned company to help it restart production of carbon dioxide used in the food industry. coletta smith reports. one crisis averted. carbon dioxide is so important in the brewing process, we use it at various stages. the government's pay—out should keep the food and drinks industry bubbling for another few weeks. our carbon dioxide stock, we have about two weeks reserves but we use vast quantities of it. we weren't panicking, there is always a solution to every single problem, but it is a relief to know that a deal has been struck. the government have agreed to pay tens of millions of pounds to cf industries to get them to start producing carbon dioxide again. but food and drinks companies will still have to pay a lot more than usual for it. we have acted in an urgent way to do what was necessary to ensure that we have the carbon dioxide we needed to keep the food supply chain moving. there are a lot of stresses on our food supply chain at the moment, and that is why you know, small things like this, that in ordinary circumstances people might be able to accommodate, are something we need to watch more carefully than we normally would. even though fizz is back on tap, for the next couple of weeks any way, the underlying issue that caused those carbon dioxide plants to be turned off is that energy is so expensive and that problem hasn't been fixed yet. we will all be paying more this winter, as utility bills are going up. and if more suppliers go bust, those customers may well be put on more expensive tariffs. the price has spiked, considerably, i have a chart in front of me — - i think it has quadrupled - in the last six, seven months. and you would expectl normally that the price would revert to the mean, - it is not something that we think is going to be sustainable but of course, mrjones, i we have to prepare for. longer term high prices. energy bosses say the crisis is out of their hands. the real worry is that the sector is so fragile as a whole, that players that might be expected to pick up customers are worried about doing so, because of the cost of doing it. there is no cash down the back of the sofa anywhere. and it is those with the least who will be hit the hardest as the bills rack up this winter. coletta smith, bbc news. our political correspondent helen catt is in westminster. good afternoon, the prime minister saying this is a temporary problem and one that would be fixed soon but we're being told that higher gas prices are here for some time to come which is quite a change? yes. come which is quite a change? yes, kwasi kwarteng, — come which is quite a change? yes, kwasi kwarteng, the _ come which is quite a change? ta: kwasi kwarteng, the business you heard from their come in at hearing this morning to the business select committee, he suggested the temporary referred to that immediate price spike we were seeing but there is an admission that we are still going to get higher prices over the longer term and we need to be prepared for that. it feels like a change but you have to explain what he thought that meant. of course this all comes in the context of lots of things happening at once. we hear the phrase perfect storm a lot at the moment a have the issues with the gas supply which has a knock—on issue on the c02 supply which has a knock—on issue on the c02 supply, a shortage of lorry drivers, a the government has to deal with but it is also coming at a time when some of the extra financial support for people that was put in place before covid is coming to an end furlough, the removal of the universal credit uplift. opposition parties in westminster are concerned about what that means for the cost of living for particularly working people and this came up at prime minister's questions earlier, that the primary step was in the us so deputy prime minister dominic raab was taking it and angelina —— angela rayner, the labour deputy leader, was asking questions. this is what she had to say. a typicalfamily, mr speaker, facing a tough winter this year. universal credit, down a thousand quid. rent up150 quid. gas bills up 150 quid. taxes up and food prices are soaring. working people will have to choose whether to feed their kids or heat their homes. the choice for the deputy prime minister is, will he make their lives easier or harder? so what will he choose, mr speaker? will the government cancel the universal credit cut? the short answer from dominic raab in effect, no. is of the £20 uplift as they described it had always intended to be temporary. when it comes to the idea that energy prices, he said the cap would save people money, but he also said the government was trying to maintain supply. this was his response. the most disastrous thing for energy bills of hard—working people - across the country would be to follow labour's plan - to nationalise the energy companies, | which the cbi say would cost as much as £2000 on bills. mr speaker, this government. is the one taking action to take the country forward, _ with a plan forthe nhs, a plan for covid, and our plan is working. employment up, job- vacancies up, wages up. if we had listened to the partyl opposite, we would never have come out of lockdown. we are the ones taking... we are the ones taking the difficult decisions, i getting on with the job, | and our plan is working. concerns expressed about the fact that the government will bring in that the government will bring in that rise in national insurance from next april to pay for social care and the nhs backlog. all of these things are coming together. there is a concern about that in westminster, not just from the a concern about that in westminster, notjust from the opposition but a few quite senior conservatives have been expressing some unease about this recently so i think this is the start of that conversation. helen, thank ou start of that conversation. helen, thank you for— start of that conversation. helen, thank you for now. _ let's speak now to labour's shadow business secretary, ed miliband. welcome to bbc news. i want to pick up welcome to bbc news. i want to pick up on the clip from the deputy prime minister, dominic raab, saying that labour's plans would be to nationalise edgy companies, adding £2000 to bills but is that a fair assessment? == £2000 to bills but is that a fair assessment?— £2000 to bills but is that a fair assessment? , . ., , £2000 to bills but is that a fair assessment? , _, , ., assessment? -- energy companies. not at all, it's nonsense. _ assessment? -- energy companies. not at all, it's nonsense. keir _ assessment? -- energy companies. not at all, it's nonsense. keir starmer - at all, it's nonsense. keir starmer said that the belief is there in the common ownership of the energy system but what that looks like in practice we will set out in the manifesto but i can tell you this, it will make it a more affordable system because part of the problem at the moment is if you have a privatised monopoly part of the system, it drives costs up. the real issue for now is that we face a cost of living crisis in the country. the government has a decision to make in eight days' time, if it goes ahead with a £1000 a year cut in universal credit from 500,000 people already plunged into fuel poverty as a result of energy price rises, they could cancel that cut opened the cut will make the situation far worse, they could cancel it and that should be their starting point and that is what they should be focused on. while we are speaking, i want to bring you a line breaking news from one of the energy suppliers, with a 250,000 customers, 185 staff, telling us it will exit the market, another one has failed as a result of these soaring wholesale gas prices. the market does not work, does it? tt prices. the market does not work, does it? , �* ., ~' prices. the market does not work, does it? , �* ., ~ ., ., does it? it isn't working and that is dee -l does it? it isn't working and that is deeply worrying _ does it? it isn't working and that is deeply worrying news. - does it? it isn't working and that is deeply worrying news. i'm - does it? it isn't working and that i is deeply worrying news. i'm afraid what it shows is that kwasi kwarteng in the last few days has been far too complacent about this situation because in the house of commons on monday, i think your political correspondent mentioned what the prime minister said on this, we have in the normal course of events energy suppliers exiting the market but were not in the normal course of events, we are in a deeply serious situation and one of the things the government need to do it to start levelling with people about the scale of the emergencies that we face. i don't mean in terms of security of supply put the suppliers going bust. is it going to require taxpayer money to stabilise the market? if so, how is that many going to be used and how are we going to be used and how are we going to be used and how are we going to get value for money on this? i'm afraid they are complacent in this situation relation to surprise and your news you broken illustrates this and are doing the wrong thing when it comes to the cost of living crisis facing so many families. t cost of living crisis facing so many families. ., ., , ., , families. i want to focus on energy su liers families. i want to focus on energy suppliers themselves _ families. i want to focus on energy suppliers themselves and - families. i want to focus on energy suppliers themselves and will - families. i want to focus on energy | suppliers themselves and will come onto the cost of living in a moment, a couple of lines on this statement we have had from green energy who are quitting the market. "market conditions are unprecedented, it is putting up the cost above the energy price cap, limiting how much we can charge. they say they are selling energy to customers at a loss and that it energy to customers at a loss and thatitis energy to customers at a loss and that it is unprecedented and therefore they are ceasing to change. how would you fix this? t change. how would you fix this? i think the first thing you need to do is keep the energy price cap because it is an essential protection for your viewers, for consumers up and down the country. venney to look at what resources will be required to stabilise the market because you don't want to end up with just six companies at the end of all this. what resources will be required to stabilise the market and what vehicles should customers, for example the green energy customers, what vehicle should they get into? should they be absorbed back into the big six energy suppliers? i'm quite sceptical about putting taxpayer money towards the big six energy suppliers so they can concentrate their share of the market. should we look at a public option, for example, so you would have a separate option where those customers were housed until the market stabilised and they could be reabsorbed into other companies? i think that is why i say to you, until the government levels with us about the scale of the crisis and what of gem are saying to them about it, it's hard to know what the scale of resources are going to be needed and what we do. find of resources are going to be needed and what we do.— and what we do. and given how unprecedented _ and what we do. and given how unprecedented this _ and what we do. and given how unprecedented this situation i and what we do. and given howj unprecedented this situation is, and what we do. and given how. unprecedented this situation is, i wonder if by the end of the year we will be left with just a big six and that means, we have been constantly told that's not enough competition, they essentially have a monopoly position in the market, it proves the energy market doesn't for customers. tt the energy market doesn't for customs— the energy market doesn't for customers. , �* ., ~ , ., the energy market doesn't for customers. , �* ., ~ ., customers. it isn't working, you are riaht, and customers. it isn't working, you are right. and there _ customers. it isn't working, you are right, and there are _ customers. it isn't working, you are right, and there are a _ customers. it isn't working, you are right, and there are a longer- customers. it isn't working, you are right, and there are a longer term | right, and there are a longer term issues. that is why i draw to attention the idea of a public option. went one of the rail companies goes bust for example, it ended up in a public entity. then you can decide if you keep that entity in public hands or let conditions stabilise, send it back to private sector but that they down the red question. you might decide it's better to house those customers in a public entity and then they be reabsorbed into the market down the road put it might protect taxpayer money better but i don't think we want to end up with just six supplies. i would also say, why are we in this position? of course there is a global issue here but i'm afraid its decisions of the last decade coming home to roost. it's not doing energy efficiency, which is the best way of managing energy demand. because it is not doing the gas storage which is a crucial protection for our country. it is not moving fast enough on renewables. all of those things that contributed to our vulnerability as a country, which i'm afraid it's playing out and it is customers and businesses who are paying the price. moving on to a different story while we have you here, which is the proposals from keir starmer to change the way the leader of the labour party is elected to. essentially reversing those reforms you brought in in 2014. what you make of what he is proposing? t make of what he is proposing? i support keir starmer and it is a leader's prerogative to look at the way the labour party works, at the way the labour party works, at the way the labour party works, at the way the wider party operates, and to come forward with proposals. and i support his decision to do that and the party will get a vote on it. i am more focused on the gas price crisis facing families to be honest but i did it as a leader, i came forward with my proposals, other leaders have done so and it is completely his prerogative to do it. the reason i'm asking is because at the time in 2014 you said you wanted to change the rules to make sure the labour party was more in touch with ordinary voters. would you agree that a change in the rules back to how they were before does not keep the labour party in touch with ordinary workers? trio. the labour party in touch with ordinary workers?— the labour party in touch with ordina workers? ., ,, ., �* , ordinary workers? no, keir starmer's intention, ordinary workers? no, keir starmer's intention. as — ordinary workers? no, keir starmer's intention, as he _ ordinary workers? no, keir starmer's intention, as he said _ ordinary workers? no, keir starmer's intention, as he said very _ ordinary workers? no, keir starmer's intention, as he said very clearly - intention, as he said very clearly intention, as he said very clearly in his proposals, is to get the labour party in touch with voters and i think that is the key thing, that he wants a labour party focusing on the country. i know that in his conference speech and be proposals we will make at conference, we will focus on all of theseissues conference, we will focus on all of these issues including the ones we've been discussing today that are so many people are pacing up and country, the cost of living crisis, how we recover from the pandemic, how we recover from the pandemic, how we recover from the pandemic, how we tackle the climate emergency is another part of what i'm focused on. it is absolutely his right and his prerogative and i support him in doing that, to come forward with proposals. and we are a democratic party and the party will take its view on it. tt party and the party will take its view on it— view on it. it is good to talk to ou, ed view on it. it is good to talk to you, ed miliband, _ view on it. it is good to talk to you, ed miliband, thank- view on it. it is good to talk to you, ed miliband, thank you. | view on it. it is good to talk to i you, ed miliband, thank you. we view on it. it is good to talk to - you, ed miliband, thank you. we can talk more about the shortage of carbon dioxide that is causing so many problems across the food industry. with me now is richard griffiths, chief executive of the british poultry council. welcome to the show. we are told there are some reassurances that co2 production will restart, it will take some days for that to happen but i'm sure you will commit? indeed. i think we do welcome the resumption of co2 supply in this country and that has to be the priority for the coming weeks and months leading up to christmas. it is good that the government have recognised it is of national importance. recognised it is of national importance-— recognised it is of national imortance. , ., ., importance. given we are told it will take several _ importance. given we are told it will take several days _ importance. given we are told it will take several days to - importance. given we are told it will take several days to get - will take several days to get production up and running again, talk to me about the impact that could have on some of the members you work with. this could have on some of the members you work with-— could have on some of the members you work with. as you know, we were very concerned _ you work with. as you know, we were very concerned when _ you work with. as you know, we were very concerned when there _ you work with. as you know, we were very concerned when there was - you work with. as you know, we were very concerned when there was a - very concerned when there was a shortage of supply. if we now have a date, orsomething shortage of supply. if we now have a date, or something to look forward to in terms of supply coming back online, that makes it a lot easier to eke out what we have from existing stocks.— to eke out what we have from existing stocks. to eke out what we have from existin: stocks. �* , , existing stocks. and remind us why it is so important _ existing stocks. and remind us why it is so important for _ existing stocks. and remind us why it is so important for the _ existing stocks. and remind us why it is so important for the industry. l it is so important for the industry. for us, as the poultry and meat industry can we use it in the slaughter process, in packaging to extend the shelf life of products, and chilling and refrigeration. gaps in any of those points would have really serious consequences on the ability to process chicken, and it would severely impact the supply chain. irate would severely impact the supply chain. ~ ., ,., would severely impact the supply chain. ~ ., ., would severely impact the supply chain. ., ., . , chain. we were also told civilly im act chain. we were also told civilly impact christmas, _ chain. we were also told civilly impact christmas, the - chain. we were also told civilly i impact christmas, the availability of certain items in the run—up to christmas, we know it is one of the busiest times of the year for the food and drink industry but if we think longer term, perhaps this is a solution now in the short term but how reassured are you this will not happen again? that how reassured are you this will not happen again?— how reassured are you this will not happen again? that is the big issue we have to address, _ happen again? that is the big issue we have to address, if— happen again? that is the big issue we have to address, if there - happen again? that is the big issue we have to address, if there is - we have to address, if there is sufficient resilience in the system to avoid this happening again. you are right to say this is short—term and we need to get this moving because we need to solve the short term problem but in solving it, we have really only put ourselves back to where we were two weeks ago. we are still facing the challenges around labour shortages, about the pandemic, lorry drivers and logistics, increasing costs of production elsewhere. we need to have a serious look notjust at the c02 have a serious look notjust at the co2 production but resilience in the food system. find c02 production but resilience in the food system-— c02 production but resilience in the food s stem. �* i. , , food system. and will your members be auoin food system. and will your members be going away _ food system. and will your members be going away and — food system. and will your members be going away and thinking, - food system. and will your members be going away and thinking, if- food system. and will your members be going away and thinking, if this i be going away and thinking, if this happens again, how do we avoid the impact on day—to—day operations? what can they be thinking about and doing see, if gas prices stay at a high level for a long time, if there are ways they can be better prepared. are ways they can be better prepared-— are ways they can be better --reared. , , ., prepared. yes, these are the questions — prepared. yes, these are the questions that _ prepared. yes, these are the questions that our _ prepared. yes, these are the questions that our member | prepared. yes, these are the - questions that our member companies are going to be asking themselves, how we can make our supplies more resilient in the future, how can we maybe get more involved in co2 and the supplies in this country. and we also need to have serious conversations with government as to how we detect food as a whole in this country. we have been seriously affected, other sectors have been affected, other sectors have been affected, we have seen reports of the challenges and food waste and the challenges and food waste and the difficulties in food production at the moment. and unless we get a real grip on that and plan properly for the future, we may well see a repeat not necessarily co2 shortages but certainly trouble for the food production in this country. tt’s production in this country. it's aood to production in this country. it's good to have _ production in this country. it's good to have your thoughts, richard griffiths, chief executive of the british poultry council. thank you for being with us. and to reiterate the breaking news we have had here, that the energy company temp negra has ceased trading. we know that wholesale gas prices are at record highs —— energy company green energy. we have but a statement on the company. they tell us with its 180 employees, it is ceasing to trade and will exit the market, in its words. it has blamed unprecedented market conditions and also said that failings in regulation have also meant it is not able to charge what it needs to to break even point of course that energy price cap is what it's referring to, the cap that means they cannot charge more even though they cannot charge more even though the price of the gas they are buying has soared in recent weeks. the companies said another firm will take on their customers so if you are one of those 250,000, your account will automatically be transferred to a new supplier. it is what happens when your supplier goes bust. don't panic, you will not stop receiving gas or electricity, it will still come to your house. your account will be moved to a new supplier which will be done automatically by the energy regulator of gem. take a few weeks. —— ofgem. unfortunately, you may end “p —— ofgem. unfortunately, you may end up on a more expensive tariff because if you are with a cheaper supplier, in some cases they were artificially able to offer deals at artificially able to offer deals at a lower price so you will be automatically moved to a new tariff act that provide and that is where the problem lies. you could find that your bills rise as a result because you will not be on that fixed deal you were originally signed up for. as always, much more on switching process and what will happen and if you're not happy, what to do about it, on the bbc website. that is on the business section. the united states is lifting it's ban on imports of british lamb. the prime minister, who is in the us for talks with un leaders and presidentjoe biden, said it would mean british farmers can export to the us for "the first time in decades". but borisjohnson's hopes of a post—brexit free trade deal appear to be fading after mr biden played down the chances of an agreement last night. the uk may now try instead to join the existing north american trade arrangement between the united states, canada and mexico. in a moment we'll hear from the prime minister on that latest deal but first our diplomatic correspondent james landale. this was boris johnson's first trip to the white house as prime minister — only the second time he has met the president in person. the relationship seemingly bound for now by a shared love of america's trains. you went down on amtrak? idid. you are a living deity. i travelled millions of miles. they love you! on travel, climate and security, there was much agreement, but on the prospects of a free trade deal between britain and the us, the president was downbeat. we are going to talk about trade a bit today and we are going to have to work that through. and crucially, he made it clear how any trade deal was dependent on the uk not unwinding the northern ireland protocol to the brexit deal. the protocols, i feel very strongly about those, we spent an enormous amount of time and effort in the united states, it was a major bipartisan effort made, and i would not at all like to see, nor, i might add, would many of my republican colleagues like to see a change in the irish accords, the end result having a closed border again. mrjohnson said nobody wanted to see the good friday agreement interrupted or unbalanced, and before his meeting with the vice president, remained optimistic about trade. i think on trade, we are seeing progress, the ban on beef, your curious ban on british beef has been removed, a wonderful thing, and the tariffs on scottish whisky, but, and there's a great deal of progress to be made and i hope we can make. we still want to do a trade deal with the united states. we would like to progress those discussions but obviously if it is not a priority for the biden administration at the moment, that is the position that we, that we understand. one idea being considered by ministers is britain instead trying to join an existing trade deal between the us, canada and mexico. but this was dismissed by some as unlikely. i serve on the committee that would have to vote on it, i haven't heard one word about that. it is not a subject that comes up here, it does sometimes in the context of northern ireland. aside from that, though, frankly it is not an issue that comes up. later today in washington, the prime minister will meet other members of congress and they matter because their votes will ultimately decide if the uk's ever to have a trade deal with the us. james landale, bbc news. mrjohnson said the us decision to import british lamb showed washington was keen to strike a trade deal with the uk. what we are going to get from the united states now is a lifting of the ban, the decades—old ban, totally unjustified, discriminating against british farmers, the ban on british lamb. we are going to be able to export british lamb to the united states for the first time in decades. it will be, the kebabs, the koftas, the lamb burgers of the people of the united states will be supplied, at last, by britain and fantasticjuicy cuts of welsh lamb and everything else. it's about time, too. and what we are wanting to do is make solid incremental steps on trade. the biden administration is not doing free trade deals around the world right now but i've got absolutely every confidence that a great deal is there to be done and there are plenty of people in that building behind me who certainly want to do one. the prime minister in washington, dc. our global trade correspondent dharshini david is here. nice to see you put the prime minister was keen to say how amazing this appeal on a lamb is but how significant is it? t5 this appeal on a lamb is but how significant is it?— significant is it? is great news if ou are a significant is it? is great news if you are a lamb _ significant is it? is great news if you are a lamb farmer- significant is it? is great news if you are a lamb farmer and - significant is it? is great news if. you are a lamb farmer and you're faced this banner since 1989, the height of the bse crisis which was when the ban was imposed on a lamb export and it has finally been lifted but this has been five years in the making. it has taken some time and it is unrelated to the bigger trade deal. it's good news in that sense but it is a tiny proportion of the amount we sailed to america, over £100 billion of stuff every year and we heard it to america —— we sell to america. there were several rounds of talks on a trade deal but it had been put on pause since the biden administration came in and there's nothing coming out at the moment to suggest it has been moved over the line. it does matter, £1 in every six we trade around the world is with america. let's talk about that global trade deal that the prime minister has been talking about so much. one of the challenges you have highlighted as far as lamb is concerned is it is notoriously complicated and difficult to get these deals across the line so we are seeing downing street rowing back from the idea we would have a bespoke deal and we can join another existing deal that's in place. it's an interesting one and a suggestion that perhaps we are examining joining north american trade pact. it takes in the us, america and canada. t5 it trade pact. it takes in the us, america and canada. is it feasible and desirable _ america and canada. is it feasible and desirable if _ america and canada. is it feasible and desirable if you're _ america and canada. is it feasible and desirable if you're the - america and canada. is it feasible and desirable if you're the uk? i america and canada. is it feasible | and desirable if you're the uk? it's and desirable if you're the uk? it's a trade pact which looks to perhaps deepen some links but it does not go as far as covering the whole of the service, for example, and we are very successful in selling services abroad so the gains would be even more marginal than a full trade deal pundits and people are saying no .1% on our gdp, pretty tiny. could be bad for our car—makers, for example, and what would america want in return? could we see the issue of food stand is coming back on the table again? ultimately, the broken trade representatives have said, hang on, look at the fine print of the deal with the rest of our neighbours. there is no room for new joiners whatsoever. surprise surprise, we had both governments saying the ultimate prize is a free trade deal but they might have an appetite for british lamb but it doesn't look like they have worked one up yet forgetting the talks back one up yet forgetting the talks back on the table. t one up yet forgetting the talks back on the table-— on the table. i know you will keep an e e on the table. i know you will keep an eye on — on the table. i know you will keep an eye on it. _ on the table. i know you will keep an eye on it, thank— on the table. i know you will keep an eye on it, thank you _ on the table. i know you will keep an eye on it, thank you for - on the table. i know you will keep an eye on it, thank you for now. l more than 100,000 people, many of them women, have been underpaid a total of a billion pounds in state pensions. that's the finding of a report by the national audit office which blames years of repeated mistakes and outdated computer systems at the department for work and pensions. sarah corker reports. for nearly a decade, irene from worcestershire was underpaid her state pension. she is one of thousands of women in their 70s and 80s who missed out on large sums of money because of government errors. i think it's scandalous. i think that the fact that you have to battle for something that's rightfully yours is awful, because i was lucky, i've got richard to help me, but anybody who's a widow, and perhaps not financially up with it, and they're perhaps struggling on the breadline, it could make a tremendous difference. irene has now been paid the £7,000 she was owed, but it was a battle, and she is far from alone. these errors relate to married women who had small state pensions. they were eligible to claim 60% of their husbands contributions, but complex rules and errors by the dwp meant that for decades they were underpaid. the errors date back to 1985, affecting an estimated 134,000 pensioners, including some married women, widows and the over—80s. they are collectively owed more than £1 billion. the national audit office found there were repeated human errors over many years at the department for work and pensions, blamed on complex pension rules and unautomated outdated it systems. most of the people affected were women, not all but most. 90% of those that take this type of state pension lift are women, and unfortunately i'm afraid that many of them will have died before they receive the money they are owed, so actually, in a significant minority of cases, this money will go to their next of kin. the department for work and pensions said it is fully committed to ensuring the historical errors made by successive governments are corrected, and it's improved training to make sure it doesn't happen again. a team of 500 civil servants is now working to trace women like irene who were short changed, but it will take years to complete. sarah corker, bbc news. tanya jefferies is an investment and pensions writer at this is money. she also uncovered this problem. good to have you with us. welcome to bbc news. look, we heard in that report about how this was able to happen. ijust wonder if report about how this was able to happen. i just wonder if you report about how this was able to happen. ijust wonder if you can elaborate on some of the details? it is an astonishing amount of money affecting an astonishing amount of people and we will come onto this in a moment, but many of those people have died so they won't even be able to get their money back? yes. have died so they won't even be able to get their money back?— to get their money back? yes, it is an absolutely _ to get their money back? yes, it is an absolutely extraordinary - to get their money back? yes, it is an absolutely extraordinary story, | an absolutely extraordinary story, especially that it was uncovered for so long. when it comes to deceased women, their beneficiaries should get the money, but what the national audit office has discovered is that the records of people who die are destroyed after four years, four yea rs destroyed after four years, four years after they die and their spouse dies, so it might be longer than four years, if they have a surviving spouse, but in most cases it is going to be really difficult for the dwp to find out what they were owed, let alone trace the next of kin. t were owed, let alone trace the next of kin. ., .., were owed, let alone trace the next of kin. ., .. , of kin. i wonder if we can 'ust rewind a fi of kin. i wonder if we can 'ust rewind a little i of kin. i wonder if we can 'ust rewind a little bit * of kin. i wonder if we can 'ust rewind a little bit and i of kin. i wonder if we can just rewind a little bit and explain| of kin. i wonder if we can just i rewind a little bit and explain to us how you managed to uncover this problem, because it is no tory utterly complicated, as you said, dating back many years, how did you uncover this in the first place? the former uncover this in the first place? tte: former pensions minister uncover this in the first place? tt9 former pensions minister steve webber is our columnist, he writes a weekly column for this is money and i edit it. a reader sent in a question in early 2020, and asked steve about this. wife had accidentally discovered she had been for 13 years. steve answered the question, and we agreed that it was important to see if there was anybody else out there who might be affected. so we basicallyjust put a box in his column and asked people to come forward if they thought they had been underpaid. and i think in that first, in the first response, i think about 40 people got in touch. and we worked through them. i phoned them up, and out of that 40 we got two cases, which when you think about it is quite a high strike rate, when you think about all the people out there who are getting a state pension, one was owed 5000, and one was owed 9000. and at that point, we were absolutely staggered that such big errors could have affected two out of a fairly small cohort of women who had just written into us. obviously, we put the call out again and more people got in touch, then more people got in touch. i think the next story, we had six women who had been underpaid, what they were owed, it started mounting up, people getting 10,000, 16,000. and it really culminated when we realised how serious it was when we started covering widows. we had two widows in succession. there was very tragic, they had both been underpaid for two decades. unfortunately they were both in care homes and had alzheimer's. they both received well over £100,000. in one case, i was the one who broke the news to the son of this lady, who tragically would never know that she had lost out on all this money. over all these years. and one of the things that has really struck me and appalled me in covering this story for so long as the people who have missed out on so much over the years, when you think about a lady who could have had an extra £100,000, these elderly ladies on low pensions, they lower their horizons to meet their income. and they deny themselves things. they might want to go out for a cup of coffee or a meal, and they choose between, should i go for a week's holiday in france, or could i afford two weeks in america? well, this lady could have afforded com you know, very lavish holidays, and it isjust know, very lavish holidays, and it is just so sad, how they missed out really for so long. isjust so sad, how they missed out really for so long.— really for so long. that's what i wanted to _ really for so long. that's what i wanted to ask _ really for so long. that's what i wanted to ask you, _ really for so long. that's what i wanted to ask you, you - really for so long. that's what i wanted to ask you, you cover. really for so long. that's what i j wanted to ask you, you cover it beautifully there, because it really does come you know, quite aside from the individual payments, it tells us so much about the mindset of people, making little decisions everyday about what they can afford, where they can go, what they can do, when they can go, what they can do, when they were cheated out of money, and in many cases they had already flagged that to the dwp, they say were fobbed off. fih flagged that to the dwp, they say were fobbed off.— were fobbed off. oh yes, that is what we heard _ were fobbed off. oh yes, that is what we heard again _ were fobbed off. oh yes, that is what we heard again and - were fobbed off. oh yes, that is what we heard again and again. | were fobbed off. oh yes, that is| what we heard again and again. i told the dwp, i rang them up, i asked them, they fobbed me off. one of the widows who got over £100,000 in the end, her son was sure that she was underpaid and kept running —— kept ringing the dwp, was very persistent, absolutely lovely man, and he was turned away every time, and he was turned away every time, and he was turned away every time, and he nearly gave up. he said when it came to the fourth go, i nearly didn't ring them. i thought i will give it one more try, i will ring them up one more time and try and get through, and it was that fourth call, he said i got through to someone helpful at the dwp, and they looked into it, and they discovered that his mother was owed so much money. but it was still a really awful case, because by the time he came to us, the dwp had agreed to repay his mum all this money, but it was refusing to give any interest, and it wasn't until i took up his case, and sent his details to the dwp, then they got another £10,000 in interest. so it has been a real struggle for the way through. i mean, we have campaigned really hard for these ladies not onlyjust to get their money, but also to fight for all the ones that weren't contacting us, all the ones that had never read our stories and knew absolutely nothing about this. and they were the ones that i kept in mind, as well as the ladies i was helping directly, the people who may be listening to this now, and have never even heard of this before, and have missed out, and some of them would have been in real need and really struggled. never mind deciding about whether they want a meal out or not, they have really not had enough barely to live on, and that is really what i think has been so shameful about this error that has gone on for so long, that it took steve webster and i are sending dozens of cases to the dwp before they finally woke up to this. it is absolutely extraordinary scandal and i have given a lot of thought over the last year and a half hour could have gone unnoticed for so long. i am not someone who thinks there was necessarily a conspiracy involved. i think the low level staff might have noticed and might have flagged it up to managers, but nothing got done, perhaps. it may well be some managers picked up the edge of the carpet, so what was underneath and put it down rather hurriedly. i couldn't say. but even if they had no idea all this time, these women were ringing up and telling them that they were underpaid, and nothing was done about it. there was certainly a lack of care, there was a disinterest in whether these women were being paid correctly, which i still find quite unforgivable. tt still find quite unforgivable. it is, and it is astonishing to hear it, and all of the work that you have done on this, we are really grateful for you explaining this and for all the work you did, alongside steve, thank you very much. good to have you with us this afternoon on bbc news. :, ~ have you with us this afternoon on bbc news. . ,, , :, have you with us this afternoon on bbc news-_ it - have you with us this afternoon on bbc news._ it is - have you with us this afternoon on bbc news._ it is just i bbc news. thank you. it is 'ust approaching i bbc news. thank you. it is 'ust approaching 20 i bbc news. thank you. it is 'ust approaching 20 minutes i bbc news. thank you. it is 'ust approaching 20 minutes to h bbc news. thank you. it isjust. approaching 20 minutes to 3pm. a highly critical report from the uk prisons watchdog has identified a series of failings in the case of an 18—year—old inmate, who lost her baby, after giving birth alone in her cell. the prisons and probation ombudsman found staff at bronzefield's women's prison, who were responsible for her care, were unclear about the estimated due date, and were not aware she could give birth imminently. as the woman went into labour, she pressed her cell bell for help but no one responded. the report says she appeared to be regarded as "difficult", rather than vulnerable. my colleaguejoanna gosling spoke to the prisons and probation ombudsman sue mcallister, who told her about the mistakes made in this case. we found in our investigation that a number of things went wrong in this case, and we identified a number of failings. first of all, there was real confusion about the due date, the date that the baby was due to be born, and so the staff who were looking after this young woman in bronzefield didn't know that the birth was imminent, and so when she asked for help on the evening before she gave birth, her calls were ignored, and she wasn't given access to a nurse. we found that that was unacceptable, she called on herself call bell twice and on neither occasion did stuff respond. truth? occasion did stuff respond. why didn't they _ occasion did stuff respond. why didn't they respond? well, - occasion did stuff respond. why didn't they respond? well, we i occasion did stuff respond. why - didn't they respond? well, we have identified they _ didn't they respond? well, we have identified they didn't _ didn't they respond? well, we have identified they didn't and _ didn't they respond? well, we have identified they didn't and said - didn't they respond? well, we have identified they didn't and said that. identified they didn't and said that was unacceptable, and one of the regulations we have made is that an investigation should be carried out by the director of bronzefield with a view to deciding whether disciplinary action is appropriate. but we also found that the midwifery care that was given to this young woman in bronzefield, and the midwifery model that operates in prisons isn't suitable for prisons. it isn't suitable for cases where, as in this case, the young woman didn't engage with midwives, wasn't willing to have a scan, didn't attend appointments, and was clearly very frightened, including being frightened that the baby was going to be taken away from her. so one of the things we have recommended is that a more flexible and imaginative approach needs to be adopted in cases like this, and that all women who are pregnant and in prison should be treated as having high risk pregnancies. that is sue mcallister, prisons probation ombudsman speaking to us earlier. dr kate paradine is the chief executive of the charity, women in prison. welcome to bbc news. i wonder first of all if you can just give us your response to this report. some really distressing images portrayed in this report. your initial reaction? tt is report. your initial reaction? it is devastating. _ report. your initial reaction? it is devastating, and _ report. your initial reaction? tt 3 devastating, and it is an absolutely damning indictment on the system that enables this to happen, and our hearts go out to the women involved and herfamily, because this really should not happen in our country. t should not happen in our country. i know you have had a little bit of time to look through this report but what do you make of the catalogue of errors, that series of failings that allowed it to get to such a desperate state?- allowed it to get to such a desperate state? allowed it to get to such a des-erate state? , , :, ., ,:, desperate state? this is not about one present. _ desperate state? this is not about one present. it — desperate state? this is not about one present, it is— desperate state? this is not about one present, it is about _ desperate state? this is not about one present, it is about the - desperate state? this is not about one present, it is about the whole | one present, it is about the whole system that enables pregnant women to be imprisoned in this way, and we, along with other campaigners and maternity providers and midwives, are asking that the government really take a closer look at this, and not imprison pregnant women, and change the law so that sentences have to consider the impact of sentences on women who are pregnant and on their babies. this is about safety. the ombudsman has made very clear that prison is not a safe place to be pregnant, and that has been clear to us for a very, very long time. it will never be safe, no matter how the changes are made. what changes would you like to see made to try to prevent a repeat of this. ~ :, made to try to prevent a repeat of this. a :, :, :, 4' made to try to prevent a repeat of this. ~ :, :, :, ,, ., made to try to prevent a repeat of this. ~ :, ., _, , this. we need to look at community alternatives — this. we need to look at community alternatives to _ this. we need to look at community alternatives to pregnant _ this. we need to look at community alternatives to pregnant women - this. we need to look at community | alternatives to pregnant women who might be sentenced to prison and look at ways that community support services can provide care so that women do not need to be in prison when they are pregnant. facing all the risks that they face, being in prison anyway is not a safe place to access health care. it is incredibly difficult for all sorts of reasons, and the fear of giving birth alone in your cell alongside all the other difficulties of accessing health care and basic surround diet and vitamins and so on mean that there aren't really changes that can make prison safe for women that are pregnant. prison safe for women that are re . nant. :, prison safe for women that are pregnant-— prison safe for women that are irrenant. :, ,, , ., , pregnant. one of the key failings was the lack _ pregnant. one of the key failings was the lack of _ pregnant. one of the key failings was the lack of information - pregnant. one of the key failings i was the lack of information sharing between the health authorities and the prison authorities. had they been able to communicate and make clear what was happening in this case, that would have gone some way, the report suggests, to prevent this happening. is that enough? tia. t happening. is that enough? no. i mean, obviously _ happening. is that enough? no. i mean, obviously there _ happening. is that enough? no. i mean, obviously there were - happening. is that enough? tt9. i mean, obviously there were multiple failings at multiple levels by multiple parts of the system, and we know that this isn't the only case of its kind, so clearlyjust tweaking the system and ensuring that information is shared is not going to change the fundamental fact that prison is not a safe place to give birth. so no, that doesn't answer the problem that we face. and the fact that we have new ministers entering the ministry ofjustice that have to oversee plans currently to build 500 new prison places for women, i think those ministers really need to think carefully about whether they want to oversee a system that enables this kind of tragedy to happen, and this kind of damning report to be on the table, and it is them that should be answering questions about how this has been able to happen. thank you for talkinr has been able to happen. thank you for talking to _ has been able to happen. thank you for talking to us. _ more than £4 million was stolen by fraudsters in the uk every day, on average, during the first half of the year. fraud, committed when individuals are tricked into handing over their personal details, surged by 71% compared with the first half of last year. less than half of victims in these cases were refunded by banks. the banks' trade body, uk finance, said teenage criminals buying fraud kits online were among the con—artists. kevin peachey is our personal finance correspondent. kevin, nice to see you. look, explain some of these for us because it is a lot of acronyms, a lot of names and numbers that people may not understand but essentially people are being tricked out of money, is not about stealing credit cards, it is about tricking them in some cases to handing over their details willingly.— some cases to handing over their details willingly. yes, let me give ou one details willingly. yes, let me give you one eye _ details willingly. yes, let me give you one eye watering _ details willingly. yes, let me give you one eye watering number, i details willingly. yes, let me give i you one eye watering number, which is £750 million, because that's the amount that fraudsters took from people in just the first six months of this year. so as you say, it averages out at an astonishing £4 million a day. now, that total is up by 30% compared with the same period last year, but as you mention the majority of that now is through, for the first time, what is known as authorised push payment fraud. what's that? i will give you an example, we happily had one of these text messages during the lockdown, which was a delivery text, all claiming to be a delivery text, saying that you had a delivery and you needed to make a payment. that was fraudsters trying to get hold of your details, trying to get hold of your details, trying to get hold of your money. so that is an example of an a pp fraud. and it is where people are tricked into transferring money to the fraudsters, it could be through an investment fraud, it could be a romance scam, that kind of thing as well. and those kind of frauds have gone up by 71%, compared to the first half of last year, and as you say, less than half of that was actually refunded to victims, so gone are the days when you feel as though you are guaranteed to get your money back if you are a victim. in many cases you might think you ring the bank and say look, i have been defrauded, can i have my money back but a lot of the banks are quite rightly saying, hang on, you are the one that did this, we gave you with a warning is you transfer this money willingly.— you with a warning is you transfer this money willingly. yes, and some ofthe this money willingly. yes, and some of the victims _ this money willingly. yes, and some of the victims think _ this money willingly. yes, and some of the victims think it _ this money willingly. yes, and some of the victims think it is _ this money willingly. yes, and some of the victims think it is the - this money willingly. yes, and some of the victims think it is the banks i of the victims think it is the banks calling them, when it is actually the criminals. it is often the sort of people who claim to be from trusted organisations, maybe the police or a delivery service or something like that, and they are actually the criminals who are trying to steal money. so what the advice generally for people is to just stop, have a think about it, obviously prevention is better than trying to claw the money back afterwards. and so have a think about who this contact is coming from, may be an e—mail, text message, may be through social media, and just wonder whether actually this is legitimate, and what banks are saying is that people are being a bit too polite. we are not happy to say no orjust put the phone down, so that is another area that we can be a bit more hard—headed if you like and put the phone down on people. but the banks and the police too have been criticised for failing to really get a hold of this issue, and the banks themselves saying today it is a national security threat, the level of fraud going on, and so there is a real issue here and ministers have been promising they will get hold of it, and make some changes to ensure people are treated fairly.— people are treated fairly. kevin, we will politely — people are treated fairly. kevin, we will politely put _ people are treated fairly. kevin, we will politely put the _ people are treated fairly. kevin, we will politely put the phone - people are treated fairly. kevin, we will politely put the phone down - people are treated fairly. kevin, we will politely put the phone down on | will politely put the phone down on you now. thank you. a man has appeared in court, charged with the murders of a woman and three children in a house in killamarsh in derbyshire on sunday. our correspondent danny savage gave us this update. the man in question's name is damien bendall. he is 31 years old. he appeared via video link for the hearing at derby magistrates�* behind me earlier this afternoon. he spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth. he is being held in police custody at the moment at ripley police headquarters in derbyshire. he is accused of murdering four people. they are terri harris, who was 35 years old, her daughter lacey bennett, who was 11, john bennett, who was 13 years old, and another girl, connie gent, who was 11. she was lacey's friend and was staying at the house for a sleepover that night. those bodies were found on sunday morning, which was when damien bendall was first arrested. police announced he was charged earlier this morning. the court appearance has taken place today. we are some 30 miles or so from chandos crescent in killamarsh, where the bodies were found on sunday morning, and at the scene obviously people are very shocked in the community, who have been leaving hundreds of flowers and messages at the scene in memory of those three children and terri harris, who died there over the weekend. the next stage in the legal process surrounding damien bendall is that he was remanded in custody and he will now appear before derby crown court at about ten o'clock on friday morning. environmental campaigners have been banned from blocking the m25, after the government successfully obtained a high court injunction to stop them. the group, "insulate britain", have blocked parts of the m25 five times in just over a week. they're calling for more action on home insulation, but many drivers have been angered by what they've done. the government says the protests have cost motorists half a million pounds. in the house of commons earlier, the home office minister kit malthouse said he believed the protests had gone too far and the government had been forced to take action. with our full support, national highways has now won an interim injunction to prevent protesters from occupying the m25. as colleagues will know, an injunction is a judicial order made, in this case, by the high court, which can either require someone to do something or to refrain from doing something. this injunction prohibits people from blocking, endangering, slowing down, obstructing or otherwise preventing the free flow of traffic on the m25. if they breach the injunction or encourage or help others to do so, people will be held in contempt of court and may be imprisoned orfined. the fine, mr speaker, is unlimited. this should act as a major deterrent and recognises that this lawbreaking is a serious, with consequences that match the offending. mr speaker, the police should be fighting crime in our neighbourhoods, not chasing activists across busy motorways. that is why we have taken this action now and we are working with national highways on obtaining a full injunction later this week. so that is the view from the home office. so that is the view from the home office. surrey�*s police and crime commissioner lisa townsend says the injunction will give the police more power. unfortunately, the cps are very unlikely to press charges because it does not carry an imprisonable offence. we know they have also been carrying out other offences — criminal damage with the paint on the road, of course public nuisance. so i think it is very important that the police are able to arrest them and take these charges forward and the advantage of the injunction is that it allows the police to act quicker in this and to hold on remand, which of course keeps those people off our streets, because, as you may be aware, the same people are being released and then coming back onto the m25 to re—commit crimes. being able to keep them away from the m25 and off our streets and out of surrey is of course what we all want. our legal correspondent dominic casciani has been at the high court today. the injunction, which was sought last night and finally sealed and approved and enforced this morning here at the high court, after a seniorjudge agreed with the transport secretary, grant shapps and the home secretary, priti patel, that so far five protests on the m25 plus others elsewhere against climate change are effectively endangering lives. these are not new powers for the police but this civil court order basically means that anybody from the group insulate britain who goes back out onto the m25, its verges, underpasses, bridges, tunnels or wherever, and causes a disruption and blocks the traffic, will effectively, potentially be in contempt of court. they will be hauled before the court and could potentially be imprisoned. this order is in force until next spring subject to a hearing next month to review it but the group itself, insulate britain, who have been staging these motorway sit—ins, and stopping the traffic for hours on end, a little while ago they told me they hadn't actually received this injunction and they are determined to continue their protest, saying they want to see meaningful action from the government. whether we will actually see any of them back on the motorway, given they must be pretty aware the order exists, given the press reporting this morning, remains to be seen but the government said it needs to act on this. police officers, meanwhile, say their hands are pretty limited on what they can do. they are pushing ministers to get on with legislation in parliament to actually strengthen the laws they have at their disposal to contain protests such as this. lava flowing from the volcano that erupted last weekend on the the spanish island of la palma has now destroyed about 200 homes. there are fears that when the lava hits the sea, it will create toxic gases and explosions. danjohnson reports from la palma. it's possible the wind direction has changed today, because we are starting to see more ash falling in other places. this is la laguna, a villagejust outside the restricted zone. these are the roadblocks, where police are keeping people back from the villages that have been evacuated. occasionally, a few residents are allowed through, to get the last of their belongings. but in the main, there are more roadblocks and more roads that are disrupted because of where the lava is flowing. some roads have been completely smothered. others, the police have closed to keep people back. and you can see how much ash has fallen here and it is coming down the whole time. sometimes really fine volcanic dust, sometimes thicker particles. if i hold out my hand, you might be able to actually see it falling from the sky and landing. and that is happening continuously. that is why we've got the masks and we've also got eye protection as well. one other problem has been traffic jams, because of the amount of roads that are closed. the traffic is building up, with people trying to get through, and there is a risk that this side of the island actually gets cut off by the lava flow. that will probably happen at some point. so we are starting to see how everyday life is being disrupted here, and this eruption is causing problems notjust for the people whose homes are directly at risk. and the big question is how long will this last and what will the future impact be? we have seen banana plantations, which are the main source of industry here, we've seen banana leaves covered in ash. will they be productive in future? that is one question. but for now, the emphasis is still on the volcano that continues to erupt, and the sky is looking a bit darker today, with that ash cloud continuing to spread particles right across the eastern and southern tip of la palma. researchers have found that tiny antibodies found in llamas could help create a new treatment for covid—19. scientists at the rosalind franklin institute in oxford have found that nanobodies bind tightly to the virus, effectively neutralising it. there haven't been any human trials yet, but if they're successful, the therapy could be given through a nasal spray. finally this lunchtime, netflix has bought the roald dahl story company, giving the streaming business access to all of the late writer's works. more than 300 million copies of his books have been sold worldwide. netflix says new live action films and animated series about the oompa lumpas will follow. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello. today may be the autumn equinox, the start of the astrological autumn, but the weather resemble something more like late summer across parts of england and wales with some spells of warm sunshine. scotland and northern ireland seeing this band of cloud and rain sinking southwards. quite a windy afternoon across the northern half of the uk, and temperatures for most of us in the high teens or low 20s, peaking at 22 a 23 degrees down towards the south. this evening and tonight, this band of cloud and patchy rain continues its journey southwards was not at the same time rain gathers again in northern scotland with some strong winds, gusts touching 60 mph or more times in exposed parts. a mild start to tomorrow morning, we will early rain across a good part of scotland, the windsor easing through through the day, we keep quite on cloud and patchy rain, also a stripe of cloud down towards the south. temperatures are really struggling in the far north, 11 degrees for lerwick, 23 in london, today is mainly dry through friday come into the weekend, and one for the time of year. sarah corker, bbc news. this is bbc news. the headlines... energy supplier green becomes the latest company to fold, blaming the increase in the price of wholesale gas. its 250,000 customers will now be moved to new suppliers. no trade deal with the us but the prime minister has announced that america will lift its ban on british lamb, for the first time in decades. the kebabs, the lamb burgers, the koftas of the people of the united states will be supplied at last by britain and fantasticjuicy cuts of welsh lamb and everything else. a high court injunction to stop the protestors who've been causing chaos on the m25 — they could now face imprisonment. in deep water — a warning many of our swimming pools could close by the end of the decade without urgent modernisation. hello and welcome to bbc news, it's three o'clock. the energy supplier green, which has a quarter of a million customers, has become the latest energy firm to be forced out of the market. the company said it couldn't supply energy because the cost of gas had risen above the price it is allowed to charge consumers. green blamed regulatory failings for its collapse. ofgem has warned "well above" hundreds of thousands of customers may be left in limbo as their energy suppliers go bust in the coming months. ministers may have to decide how to supply gas to customers who no business wants to take on. green said in a statement... the shadow business secretary, ed miliband, said ministers would need to decide how to deal with energy customers whose suppliers collapsed, because other companies wouldn't be able to take them on. i'm afraid what it shows is that kwasi kwarteng in the last few days has been far too complacent about this situation because in the house of commons on monday, i think your political correspondent mentioned what the prime minister said on this, we have in the normal course of events energy suppliers exiting the market but we're not in the normal course of events, we are in a deeply serious situation and one of the things the government needs to do it to start levelling with people about the scale of the emergencies that we face. i don't mean in terms of security of supply but the suppliers going bust. is it going to require taxpayer money to stabilise the market? if so, how is that money going to be used and how are we going to get value for money on this? i'm afraid they are complacent in this situation in relation to suppliers and your news you broken illustrates this and are doing the wrong thing when it comes to the cost of living crisis facing so many families. i want to focus on energy suppliers themselves and we will come onto the cost of living in a moment, a couple of lines on this statement we have had from green energy who are quitting the market. "market conditions are unprecedented, it is putting up the cost above the energy price cap," limiting how much we can charge. they say they are selling energy to customers at a loss and that it is unprecedented and therefore they are ceasing to change. how would you fix this? i think the first thing you need to do is keep the energy price cap because it is an essential protection for your viewers, for consumers up and down the country. you then need to look at what resources will be required to stabilise the market because you don't want to end up with just six companies at the end of all this. what resources will be required to stabilise the market and what vehicles should customers, for example the green energy customers, what vehicle should they go into? should they be absorbed back into the big six energy suppliers? i'm quite sceptical about putting taxpayer's money towards the big six energy suppliers so they can concentrate their share of the market. should we look at a public option, for example, so you would have a separate option where those customers were housed until the market stabilised and they could be reabsorbed into other companies? i think that is why i say to you, until the government levels with us about the scale of the crisis and what ofgem are saying to them about it, it's hard to know what the scale of resources are going to be needed and what we do. and given how unprecedented this situation is, i wonder if by the end of the year we will be left with just a big six and that means, we have been constantly told that's not enough competition, they essentially have a monopoly position in the market, it proves the energy market doesn't work for customers. it isn't working, you are right, and there are a longer term issues. that is why i draw to attention to the idea of a public option. when one of the rail companies goes bust for example, it ended up in a public entity. then you can decide if you keep that entity in public hands or let conditions stabilise, send it back to private sector but that is a down the road question. you might decide it's better to house those customers in a public entity and then they be reabsorbed into the market down the road — it might protect taxpayer money better but i don't think we want to end up withjust six supplies. i would also say, why are we in this position? of course there is a global issue here but i'm afraid its decisions of the last decade coming home to roost. it's not doing energy efficiency, which is the best way of managing energy demand. it is not doing the gas storage which is a crucial protection for our country. it is not moving fast enough on renewables. all of those things that contributed to our vulnerability as a country, which i'm afraid is playing out and it is customers and businesses who are paying the price. that was ed miliband speaking to us earlier. speaking to mps before energy firm green announced it would cease trading, the boss of the uk's energy regulator, ofgem, said he expected more firms to go bust, with huge numbers of people affected. gas prices are almost six times the level it was last year and indeed, it rose 70% in august. so we are in unprecedented cost territory. i'm afraid there are many factors that have contributed to that, including an increase in international demand, potentially some restrictions around supply, so it's very hard to predict how long that will last. the sector has faced shocks and in fact we have talked about how we managed through the covid crisis which had a big impact on the energy sector overall but when you see that change, and i encourage you to have a look at the change in gas price, it really is something we don't think we have seen before, at this pace, we have seen exit from this market before, we have had up to double digit numbers of companies exiting the market at a time so it's not unusual for supplies to go out of the market. i think what is different this time is the dramatic change in costs the suppliers are facing. we have had around, you know, we have had five roughly over the past few months, a number more at the start of the year. we do expect more, we expect more to not to be able to face the circumstances we are in but it's genuinely hard to say more than that, partly because that means predicting what may happen to the gas price. what i want to say here is this is a significant impact on the sector and it's something we are working with government to manage but we can't make predictions as to how it will play out. our business correspondent alice baxter is in west london. green energy has exited the market in its words and it will cease to trade, not hugely unexpected? trio. trade, not hugely unexpected? no, absolutel trade, not hugely unexpected? tt9, absolutely right. green energy is the latest of these smaller energy providers to go bust. they follow in the wake of people's energy, utility point, pr energy and money plus energy. . they had around 250,000 customers, employed 180 people, so a sizeable number of people affected but when we look at the story as a whole, you showed the clip from jonathan brearley, the boss of ofgem, ofgem are not saying exactly how many customers they think are affected by this energy crisis across the uk but it is several hundreds of thousands. and it is due to this sixfold increase and the wholesale cost of gas. is a global issue. it is also an issue we think has some way to go. this is most likely from what we have heard today not the last we will hear. green energy will most likely not be the last energy company to fail. the question remains, what will happen to these hundreds of thousands of customers. they will automatically be switched onto tariffs with new energy companies, and there is a protocol in place, people are being told not to panic, but these are worrying times and we were also hearing earlier from worrying times and we were also hearing earlierfrom kwasi kwarteng, the business and energy minister, that he thought there would be more to come on this story but also telling customers that the energy cap would not be removed. some critics are saying it is because of this energy cap, which means that these smaller companies are not able to pass on increasing wholesale costs to customers, which is why a lot are going bust, but kwasi kwarteng said the cap was not going to go. kwarteng said the cap was not going to to. : ., kwarteng said the cap was not going to to. : . ,. , , , kwarteng said the cap was not going toio. . ,. ,, to go. and we have discussed this a lot in the business _ to go. and we have discussed this a lot in the business world, _ to go. and we have discussed this a lot in the business world, that - to go. and we have discussed this a lot in the business world, that all. lot in the business world, that all of these new smaller energy companies were designed to give competition to the so—called big six that had dominated the market for so long in the idea was that they would shakeit long in the idea was that they would shake it up and give consumers a choice. are we getting to a situation by the end of this year that the big six are the only ones that the big six are the only ones that remain? tide that the big six are the only ones that remain?— that the big six are the only ones that remain? we could get back to that remain? we could get back to that ioint. that remain? we could get back to that point. and _ that remain? we could get back to that point. and the _ that remain? we could get back to that point. and the question - that remain? we could get back to that point. and the question is, i that remain? we could get back to that point. and the question is, is| that point. and the question is, is that point. and the question is, is that in the best interests of the customers? jonathan brearley, the boss of energy regulator ofgem said it was not unusual for supplies to go out of the market but i think what is different this time is the dramatic change in the costs those suppliers are facing. we expect more suppliers are facing. we expect more suppliers not to be able to face the circumstances women but it's hard to say more than that, partly because that means predicting what may happen to the global gas price. and of course they are not in a position to do that but there has been this proliferation of small to gas supplies... what we do know is that we are globally facing this huge spike in the cost wholesale gas, because of the price cap we have in the uk, companies are not able to pass that on to customers and so a lot of these smaller outlets are falling by the wayside. alice, thank you very much for now. let's have a look at what happens when your supplier goes bust. what if you are one of these 250,000 customers of green energy? don't panic — you will not stop receiving gas and electricity. your account will be moved to a new supplier by energy regulator ofgem, although this may take a few weeks. unfortunately, you may end up on a more expensive tariff if you are switched to a new supplier. you will not be on the one you signed up for it with your original company, it might be cheaper and you might be moved to a more expensive one with the new provider but there are a lot of details if you have problems, on the bbc website, showing what can happen next. it is 12 minutes past three, let's look at some other headlines. the united states is lifting its ban on imports of british lamb. the prime minister, who is in the us for talks with un leaders and presidentjoe biden, said it would mean british farmers can export to the us for "the first time in decades". but borisjohnson's hopes of a post—brexit free trade deal appear to be fading after mr biden played down the chances of an agreement last night. in a moment we'll hear from the prime minister on that latest deal but first our diplomatic correspondent james landale. this was boris johnson's first trip to the white house as prime minister — only the second time he has met the president in person. the relationship seemingly bound for now by a shared love of america's trains. you went down on amtrak? idid. you are a living deity. i travelled millions of miles. they love you! on travel, climate and security, there was much agreement, but on the prospects of a free trade deal between britain and the us, the president was downbeat. we are going to talk about trade a bit today and we are going to have to work that through. and crucially, he made it clear how any trade deal was dependent on the uk not unwinding the northern ireland protocol to the brexit deal. the protocols, i feel very strongly about those, we spent an enormous amount of time and effort in the united states, it was a major bipartisan effort made, and i would not at all like to see, nor, i might add, would many of my republican colleagues like to see a change in the irish accords, the end result having a closed border again. mrjohnson said nobody wanted to see the good friday agreement interrupted or unbalanced, and before his meeting with the vice president, remained optimistic about trade. i think on trade, we are seeing progress, the ban on beef, your curious ban on british beef has been removed, a wonderful thing, and the tariffs on scottish whisky, but, and there's a great deal of progress to be made and i hope we can make. we still want to do a trade deal with the united states. we would like to progress those discussions but obviously if it is not a priority for the biden administration at the moment, that is the position that we, that we understand. one idea being considered by ministers is britain instead trying to join an existing trade deal between the us, canada and mexico. but this was dismissed by some as unlikely. i serve on the committee that would have to vote on it, i haven't heard one word about that. it is not a subject that comes up here, it does sometimes in the context of northern ireland. aside from that, though, frankly it is not an issue that comes up. later today in washington, the prime minister will meet other members of congress and they matter because their votes will ultimately decide if the uk's ever to have a trade deal with the us. james landale, bbc news. mrjohnson said the us decision to import british lamb showed washington was keen to strike a trade deal with the uk. what we are going to get from the united states now is a lifting of the ban, the decades—old ban, totally unjustified, discriminating against british farmers, the ban on british lamb. we are going to be able to export british lamb to the united states for the first time in decades. it will be, the kebabs, the koftas, the lamb burgers of the people of the united states will be supplied, at last, by britain and fantasticjuicy cuts of welsh lamb and everything else. it's about time, too. and what we are wanting to do is make solid incremental steps on trade. the biden administration is not doing free trade deals around the world right now but i've got absolutely every confidence that a great deal is there to be done and there are plenty of people in that building behind me who certainly want to do one. that was the prime minister in washington. we've been hearing a lot about trade deals today and our reality check correspondent chris morris is with us. shed some light onto these deals because we know the uk it had the us at the top of the list, they said this was where we would get a free trade deal but now they are being forced to look elsewhere? thei;r trade deal but now they are being forced to look elsewhere? they are rut at 18 forced to look elsewhere? they are put at 18 months _ forced to look elsewhere? they are put at 18 months ago, _ forced to look elsewhere? they are put at 18 months ago, then - forced to look elsewhere? they are put at 18 months ago, then trade i put at 18 months ago, then trade secretary liz truss told the house of commons they hoped within three years to have 80% of all uk trade involving free—trade agreements. the us was the greatest opportunity within that, she said. that will not happen. they have had to look elsewhere and frankly for a slightly smaller fry. elsewhere and frankly for a slightly smallerfry. what elsewhere and frankly for a slightly smaller fry. what they've done every time you hit a government minister talk about trade, they say we've already done 60 plus deals around the world. it is important, the fact that those deals have been done, because it could have taken longer and they have been done very quickly. but the problem is that those 60 trade deals since leaving the eu, the vast majority of what you call rollover deals and that means essentially those deals are copying the terms of the uk already had as a member of the eu, so pretty much exactly what they had before. good to have them, but not adding to the sum of british trade around the world. :,, . , the sum of british trade around the world. :,, ., , ., , world. those are the existing deals and what people — world. those are the existing deals and what people will— world. those are the existing deals and what people will look- world. those are the existing deals and what people will look for- world. those are the existing deals and what people will look for it - world. those are the existing deals and what people will look for it if i and what people will look for it if we can get a new one, what new deals are out there?— are out there? there has been some niroress are out there? there has been some progress on — are out there? there has been some progress on that- — are out there? there has been some progress on that. a _ are out there? there has been some progress on that. a couple _ are out there? there has been some progress on that. a couple of- are out there? there has been some progress on that. a couple of deals i progress on that. a couple of deals done which were sort of rollover and then they were rollover plus, the deal with japan slightly different than the eu deal. similarly, it has done a deal with norway, iceland and lichtenstein. again, slightly different from the eu, slightly more advantageous in some areas. the one thing it has done is a deal in principle with australia, a free trade deal in principle on which the eu does not have but that does not come into effect get an bubbly won't until next year, it is a tiny part of the uk's overall trade —— it probably won't ponder these are not the big fish. ibig probably won't ponder these are not the bi fish. �* . probably won't ponder these are not the big fish-— the big fish. big fish are the united states _ the big fish. big fish are the united states and _ the big fish. big fish are the united states and europe. l the big fish. big fish are the - united states and europe. europe is the bi one united states and europe. europe is the big one and _ united states and europe. europe is the big one and of _ united states and europe. europe is the big one and of course _ united states and europe. europe is the big one and of course we - united states and europe. europe is the big one and of course we do - united states and europe. europe is| the big one and of course we do have a free trade deal with the european union, but the point about it is that it gives us far less access for british exporters to the eu market that they had when they were part of the single market and customs union. the numbers are quite striking. it will take a while for trade figures to settle down with the uk outside the eu but the numbers are clear. in the eu but the numbers are clear. in the first seven months of this year, according to the eu statistics office, uk exports to the eu are down more than 17%. you might say that the pandemic might have played a role but all other major economies exporting into the eu, their exports over the same period are up. leaving that market has made a substantial difference. as you suggest, you have to look at the big economies around the world. china, free trade is always hugely problematic for all sorts of political reasons. the us, president biden has only told us what we already knew, there is no sign of a deal coming anytime soon. and with the eu, there is less trade they used to be. the promise of a brexit, all of the big promises, was trading opportunities around the world, who knows where we will be in 20 years time but for the next few years it is pretty clear the uk will be trading less with the rest of the world and not more. bud be trading less with the rest of the world and not more.— be trading less with the rest of the world and not more. and whilst the uk and the — world and not more. and whilst the uk and the prime _ world and not more. and whilst the uk and the prime minister - world and not more. and whilst the uk and the prime minister is - world and not more. and whilst the uk and the prime minister is keen. world and not more. and whilst the. uk and the prime minister is keen to talk up this lamb deal, the free trade deal to sell land to the us, it proves how complicated it is. it has taken many years to negotiate so i wonder where all of this leaves the uk, looking around the world thinking, where can we strike a deal is and where is most important for us to focus?— us to focus? that's the problem if ou do it us to focus? that's the problem if you do it less _ us to focus? that's the problem if you do it less trade _ us to focus? that's the problem if you do it less trade with - us to focus? that's the problem if you do it less trade with europe, | you do it less trade with europe, where else do you go. we saw from that quote, the us with the big bet, if you like. because it is welcome that, land farmers will work on being able to export and it's good news that scotch whisky exports will no longer have tariffs on them but these are tiny amounts if you take these are tiny amounts if you take the totality of uk trade around the world and that trading relationship with the rest of the world, and it will take a long time for it to settle down at the moment, it's going to be smaller than what we had before. . :. .. going to be smaller than what we had before. , ., ,, , :, :, going to be smaller than what we had before. , ., ,, i. :, ., ,, before. chris, thank you for talking us throu~h before. chris, thank you for talking us through that, _ before. chris, thank you for talking us through that, interesting - before. chris, thank you for talking us through that, interesting stuff i us through that, interesting stuff and so much work still to be done. another line of breaking news, we told you about green energy, one of the firms that has said it is quitting the market come hot on its heels, avro has said it will cease trading according to a statement on its website. they are making clear here that customers do not need to worry, their supplies are secure, domestic credit balance, basically if you have any money, you've been overpaying, for example in the summer, any money you have stored with the company will be protected. that is following advice from ofgem not to switch, wait until the switch is done for you automatically. but the top line, avro is ceasing to trade, the latest firm to fall victim to those soaring wholesale gas prices. it means they are not able to sell at a price that will make them any profit or break even because of the so—called energy price cap that is preventing them raising prices. avro saying they will make sure the process of handing over customer to a new supplier, honouring a domestic credit balances, is as hassle—free as possible for customers. at the moment, you don't need to do anything if you are a customer of avro. equally, if you are a customer of green energy that also collapsed within the last hour but avro is the latest firm just today cease trading as a result of those soaring wholesale gas prices. more on that for you throughout the afternoon. environmental campaigners have been banned from blocking the m25 after the government successfully obtained a high court injunction to stop them. the group insulate britain have blocked parts of the m25 five times injust over a week. they're calling for more action on home insulation, but many drivers have been angered by what they've done. the government says the protests have cost motorists half a million pounds. in the house of commons earlier, the home office minister kit malthouse said he believed the protests had gone too far and the government had been forced to take action. with our full support, national highways has now won an interim injunction to prevent protesters from occupying the m25. as colleagues will know, an injunction is a judicial order made, in this case, by the high court, which can either require someone to do something or to refrain from doing something. this injunction prohibits people from blocking, endangering, slowing down, obstructing or otherwise preventing the free flow of traffic on the m25. if they breach the injunction or encourage or help others to do so, people will be held in contempt of court and may be imprisoned orfined. the fine, mr speaker, is unlimited. this should act as a major deterrent and recognises that this lawbreaking is a serious, with consequences that match the offending. mr speaker, the police should be fighting crime in our neighbourhoods, not chasing activists across busy motorways. that is why we have taken this action now and we are working with national highways on obtaining a full injunction later this week. surrey�*s police and crime commissioner, lisa townsend, says the injunction will give the police more power. unfortunately, the cps are very unlikely to press charges because it does not carry an imprisonable offence. we know they have also been carrying out other offences — criminal damage with the paint on the road, of course public nuisance. i think it is very important that the police are able to arrest them and take these charges forward and the advantage of the injunction is that it allows the police to act quicker in this and to hold on remand which of course keeps those people off our streets because, as you may be aware, the same people are being released and then coming back onto the m25 to re—commit crimes. being able to keep them away from the m25 and off our streets and out of surrey is of course what we all want. let's go to another big story we are following this afternoon. lava flowing from the volcano that erupted last weekend on the the spanish island of la palma has now destroyed about 200 homes. there are fears that when the lava hits the sea, it will create toxic gases and explosions. danjohnson reports from la palma. it's possible the wind direction has changed today because we are starting to see more ash falling in other places. this is la laguna, a villagejust outside the restricted zone. these are the roadblocks where police are keeping people back from the villages that have been evacuated. occasionally a few residents are allowed through to get the last of their belongings. but in the main there are more roadblocks and more roads that are disrupted because of where the lava is flowing. some roads have been completely smothered. others the police have closed to keep people back. and you can see how much ash has fallen here and it is coming down the whole time. sometimes really fine volcanic dust, sometimes thicker particles. if i hold out my hand you might be able to actually see it falling from the sky and landing. and that is happening continuously. that is why we've got the masks and we've also got eye protection as well. one other problem has been traffic jams because of the amount of roads that are closed. the traffic is building up with people trying to get through and there is a risk that this side of the island actually gets cut off by the lava flow. that will probably happen at some point. so we are starting to see how everyday life is being disrupted here and this eruption is causing problems notjust for the people whose homes are directly at risk. and the big question is how long will this last and what will the future impact be. we have seen banana plantations which are the main source of industry here, we've seen banana leaves covered in ash. will they be productive in future, that is one question. but for now the emphasis is still on the volcano that continues to erupt and the sky is looking a bit darker today. with that ash cloud continuing to spread particles right across the eastern and southern tip of la palma. jonas perez is a tour guide on la palma and was evacuated from his house. welcome to bbc news, we are grateful for you spending time with us. talk to me a bit about where you are and what you can see and how you are immediately effective. —— affected. i am in one of the places that is at the moment are perfectly safe and one of the homes of many of those people who have been evacuated. i have my family over here, my whole family, my in—laws family, they moved down here as well with my side of the family because we cannot stay in our homes at the moment while the volcano is on. bud in our homes at the moment while the volcano is on-— volcano is on. and tell me about where you _ volcano is on. and tell me about where you are — volcano is on. and tell me about where you are and _ volcano is on. and tell me about where you are and where - volcano is on. and tell me about where you are and where your. volcano is on. and tell me about - where you are and where your house is. there were warnings but you have been forced to move so what do you know about your house right now? our house is know about your house right now? qt" house is in place know about your house right now? ttt" house is in place that is safe at the moment. it was supposed to be the moment. it was supposed to be the hottest spot that is talking about the weekend before the eruptions started. but the eruption started a bit more into the north and it took loads of people by surprise. at least we knew that something was going to happen and we already started packing, slowly. but when the volcano took off, it was in a place that nobody knew nobody guessed it was going to be there and loads of people had to just run out of their homes because it was basically above their heads a couple of kilometres away. and it's in a dangerous area because there are a lot of houses there, or there used to be. and now it's on the way down to be. and now it's on the way down to the coast and it's good to block one of the most important banana production areas of the side of the island —— it is going to block. it could be quite dramatic. fits island -- it is going to block. it could be quite dramatic.- island -- it is going to block. it could be quite dramatic. as we said in the introduction, _ could be quite dramatic. as we said in the introduction, there _ could be quite dramatic. as we said in the introduction, there is- could be quite dramatic. as we said in the introduction, there is a - could be quite dramatic. as we said in the introduction, there is a fear. in the introduction, there is a fear that when it reaches the water, it could create toxic gas as well when it comes into contact with the water which is a further complication on what is an already very difficult situation. talk to me about what help has been available. you are advised to leave and were able to gather some things but what help is there on the ground and what are the emergency services able to do to get people out of harms way? fits emergency services able to do to get people out of harms way?— people out of harms way? as far as i can tell i think— people out of harms way? as far as i can tell i think the _ people out of harms way? as far as i can tell i think the local _ can tell i think the local authorities have done a very good job. before the volcano erupted, over the weekend, friday and saturday, there have been talks where the local authorities started informing, giving information to local people from those original hot places. we went to some of those meetings and we knew in our heads what to do. loads of police and army quys what to do. loads of police and army guys and local authorities over here on the island have moved to this site to help and also they have been quite flexible in a way because due to the fact that the lava is moving so slowly, like since yesterday in the last 24 hours, i would say is moved no more than half a kilometre, due to the fact it is moving so slow, the local authorities are allowing local residents from those areas to go there, with one person, with one policeman or someone from the local town or whatever, to go to their homes, to take things in a safeway and go out. obviously you are only allowed to take important and valuable things, things you can't replace with money, that's what they say, like family pictures, papers of the house some money if you have it in the house, and everybody is reacting in a positive way because that's exactly what they are doing. obviously animals if you have them and things like this. yesterday we had to do something similar with my in—laws, we were allowed to go through with a little truck and we took all of those things that we didn't want to lose, or the in—laws didn't want to lose. jonas, stay safe, we are grateful for you speaking to us and we wish you all the best, i hope that it doesn't turn out in the way we expect. are you hearing another explosion? expect. are you hearing another explosion?_ expect. are you hearing another ex-losion? , , :, explosion? yes, let me tell you we are still in — explosion? yes, let me tell you we are still in day _ explosion? yes, let me tell you we are still in day number— explosion? yes, let me tell you we are still in day number two - explosion? yes, let me tell you we are still in day number two and - explosion? yes, let me tell you we are still in day number two and it's| are still in day number two and it's actually today has been really active really explosive and loud. and this is the fiat right now over here. we don't really know the dimensions of it, anything could happen still, good and bad of course. but we really need to watch out this week to know what is going to happen at the following week, if you know what i mean. if another place will open up and more lava comes down, it will be horrific, but if it stays where it is and carries on the line where it goes, at least everybody knows which direction and everybody knows which direction and everybody else in the island can rest quietly because that is the uncertainty at the moment. we are at the very early stage still. and that black cloud you can see, it's just ash, as your colleague said, ash thatis ash, as your colleague said, ash that is flowing everywhere under this roof top is black, it's covered in ash and i'm ten kilometres away. we will see. thank you and good luck, it's not over yet, as you clearly point out but thank you for speaking to us. we will keep you right across that story as it continues to develop. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's sarah mulkerrins. derby county have entered administration and been deducted 12 points by the english football league. owner mel morris has spent the past two days talking to players and staff, whose jobs are now uncertain. the 12—point deduction means that wayne rooney's team drop to the foot of the championship table, on minus two points. administrators from the firm quantuma have been appointed, who say they are looking for interested parties and want to ensure the club continues to fulfill it's fixtures. owner morris says the club has lost him "in excess of £200m" to date. because of the creditor position, they will have 21 points deducted this season, come what may, and if they don't pay the creditors the required dividend, there will be another 12 points next season, so you could look at a drop right the way to division two over the next season and a half. english premier league and championship clubs will be able to offer licensed standing areas at their grounds from 2022, as part of a pilot programme. it would mean an end to the ban on standing in the top two divisions which has been in place for more than 25 years. laura scott has more. well, while bosses from the premier league clubs have been meeting at this hotel in london behind me, a matter not on the agenda but hugely significant came from the sports ground, safety authority, which is being called an historic announcement that they will invite expressions of interest from premier leagues and championship clubs to be part of a pilot of licensed safe standing areas for the 1st of january. this is all part of the 2019 government manifesto to introduce safe standing at football grounds if it could be seen to be done safely, and there has been research carried out, and covid has delayed the plans for these pilots but from the 1st of january, after more than 25 years of all—seater stadium in the top two divisions in england, fans will be allowed to stand on the grounds. haifa england, fans will be allowed to stand on the grounds.— england, fans will be allowed to stand on the grounds. now we know that thousands _ stand on the grounds. now we know that thousands of _ stand on the grounds. now we know that thousands of fans _ stand on the grounds. now we know that thousands of fans have - stand on the grounds. now we know that thousands of fans have been i that thousands of fans have been standing during matches, sometimes to the detriment of those fans behind them, and the football supporters association has been running more than a 30 year campaign on this matter, and they said they were beyond delighted. they said this announcement brought to an end a farcical situation, and the premier league bosses will now need to decide whether they want their club to be part of it, by the beginning of october and then it will be decided which clubs will be part of these pilots from new year's day. in netball, england have drawn level with new zealand in their three match series after victory in the second match in christchurch. the world champions held a narrow lead for the majority of the first half but the england roses rallied in the third quarter, and by the fourth they were in control. the final score was 55—45 in favour of england. the final match of the series takes place on friday. england are using the series to help them prepare for next years commonwealth games in birmingham. now, the countdown to the ryder cup continues. the competition gets under way at whistling straights in wisconsin on friday, and european captain padraig harrington says he'll have a "covid envelope", in case a player is forced to withdraw after a positive test. there's been an "envelope rule" at the ryder cup for the last 40 years, where a captain nominates a player to sit out, if any of the opposing players get injured. and with this competition taking place during the pandemic, harrington says it's more necessary than ever. if god forbid we had a covert outbreak of a number of players, but for one player it is pretty straightforward. obviously, the first two days, it is four players sit out. so there is no issues on those two days, but obviously on sunday, start losing a few players to covid, it does affect the match in some ways, but one is in a covert envelope, for sure.— envelope, for sure. that is your sort for envelope, for sure. that is your sport for now- _ let's return to a story — that environmental campaigners have been banned from blocking the m25 — after the government successfully obtained a high court injunction to stop them. the group �*insulate britain' have blocked parts of the m25 five times injust over a week. let's speak to our home and legal correspondent dominic casciani. dominic, look, this injunction gives the police more powers, doesn't it? just explain what this will allow them to do. just explain what this will allow them to do-_ just explain what this will allow them to do. ~ �* ., , them to do. well, ben, what this in'unction them to do. well, ben, what this injunction basically _ them to do. well, ben, what this injunction basically does - them to do. well, ben, what this injunction basically does is i injunction basically does is basically put the force of the court behind what the police are already doing. about 300 people have been arrested over the last week in relation to insulated britain's demonstrations on the m25 and elsewhere, so about 130 or so of those in the surrey part of the m25, including this really major blockage last night near the cobham area of surrey, which stopped both lanes of traffic on the m25, causing tailbacks for absolutely miles, and something police chief said was a major potential risk to life and limb. the court order today doesn't actually give the police more powers. what it does is basically that the force of the court behind what the police are doing, because mrjustice lavender who has actually signed this order after the emergency application from the department for transport and national highways, has said that anybody who takes part in a demonstration on the m25, its verges, its underpasses, its bridges, sensible —— central reservation, basically anything to do with a motorway, anyone who locks themselves onto a part of the motorway or causes some kind of obstruction, anyone who leaves an item on the motorway to leave an extra option, they will now be in contempt of court for doing so, because of the dangers presented to the public. and as a consequence, they would be hauled before him or another seniorjudge here at the high court, and face the risk of prison. now, the interesting thing about that is effectively this is a double whammy on the protesters, because the 300 or so so far who have been arrested by the police, they have all been conditionally bailed, as we understand it. surrey police have given me a statement in the last few minutes, which says that while the investigations continue, police are looking at a variety of possible offences, including public nuisance, criminal damage and conspiracy to cause danger to road users. so police haven't ruled out criminal prosecutions here. but the courts also say that even if the police don't act, there is now this order in place to say do not go on the motorway. the group say they haven't seen sight of this injunction, that this wasn't going to stop them. as far as we are aware they are not on the motorways at the moment but we do know they have been on the road this afternoon outside the home office, one of the departments involved in this injunction, making their voices heard, and as i understand it, the rows there has been blocked —— the road has been blocked by these protesters and they say they are not going to give up until they get what they call a meaningful response from the government on climate change and the need to insulate homes. thank government on climate change and the need to insulate homes.— need to insulate homes. thank you. dominic at the _ need to insulate homes. thank you. dominic at the high _ need to insulate homes. thank you. dominic at the high court _ need to insulate homes. thank you. dominic at the high court with i need to insulate homes. thank you. dominic at the high court with the l dominic at the high court with the latest on the injunction after the protests on the m25. one line on the breaking news, another energy firm has collapsed. this one is avro energy, supplying gas and electricity to around 580,000 customers, comingjust electricity to around 580,000 customers, coming just half an hour orso customers, coming just half an hour or so that green, another supplier, green energy that supplies 250,000 customers would also go under. it says they simply cannot afford to sell gas and electricity, but gas crucially at the price it is limited at because of the soaring price of wholesale gas. they were offering cheap deals to customers and now that wholesale price has risen they are unable to meet those payments. so if you are with either avro or green energy, your account will automatically be transferred to a new provider. the question as you may not be transferred on the cheap deal you were on with your current provider, so all of that will happen automatically but it could mean that if you are a customer with either avro or green, or any of the other firms that have gone under in recent days, you might not be on the same cheap deal you are on. we are told these suppliers representjust 3% of domestic customers, so it still small, but nonetheless the big six are still dominating the market, but the whole idea that smaller businesses were springing up, designed to shake up the energy market, all of that coming unravelled as the soaring price of wholesale gas means it is simply unviable for them to offer that at the price that is permitted. remember, the energy price caps means energy firms cannot charge any more even if perhaps their bills have gone up. the six energy firms say they have hedged, they have prepared, they have got a bit of money in reserve in case prices go up money in reserve in case prices go up for the smaller ones with may be less deep pockets, that proves to be a problem. so avro energy and green energy this afternoon have collapsed. —— green energy. labour leader sir keir starmer has been meeting union bosses this lunchtime to discuss his plans for changing how leaders are elected in the future, but the plans have so far proven to be controversial and one union boss has said she won't be going to the party conference. our political correspondent iain watson has the latest from westminster. just how controversial are they, may be explain a little bit for viewers, what is it that is being proposed? what keir starmer is proposing to do is to change the leadership rules for future contests, and is to change the leadership rules forfuture contests, and if is to change the leadership rules for future contests, and if anything that would do is would give an equal say to trade unions, to party members and two mps. that the moment, the leader is elected on the basis of one member, one vote amongst the party membership, so critics on the left say effectively they are dilating the strength of they are dilating the strength of the party members, the rank and file, the grass roots go out and do the work, and they are inflating the role given to mps in the process. now what keir starmer and his allies would argue is that they want the party to be in touch with working people, notjust activists in the labour party, but people who might be supporters but not members, trade unions, and mps who are in touch with wider issues. that is part of it, you can discuss different systems but people are also interested in the outcomes and certainly those on the left think it is far less likely to see a jeremy corbyn type figure elected in the future if keir starmer succeeds in changing the rules. in order to get these changes through, at the labour conference that starts this weekend, the unions have half the votes, so he needs to win a significant amount of them over if he wants to do so, and in the crunch meeting this afternoon, i was told amongst the unions there were no takers for his proposals at all, and partly it was in opposition in principle to what he was suggesting, including the unite union. you mentioned their new leader is not even attending the labour conference. for others it was just a matter of logistics. they were saying does keir starmer really understand how the labour party works, because they didn't see the detail of these proposals until this afternoon. the conference is only a few days away and they say they have to consult more widely, either with their members or their executive committees or delegations to the conference and it simply isn't possible for them to sign up and give him the support at this stage. so they are urging keir starmer to delay, to effectively take these moves of the conference agenda entirely, and in a rather more robust way, the former shadow chancellor and jeremy corbyn ally john mcdonnell suggested, in pretty plain speaking terms, that keir starmer also ought to ditch the proposals at least for the time being. to bounce it through in this way, i think it is being seen as a manoeuvre, and i think, actually, what he should be doing is have a proper consultation process. or, also, if, you know, he was elected only 18 months ago, maybe he should go back to the electorate that elected him and say, these are my proposals, have a proper leadership election. he can'tjust bounce this through, and look at the contrast there is going to be in the media. you have borisjohnson, strutting the world stage, doing deals with biden and other world leaders, trying to prepare for cop, and what do we have? the labour leader in grubby stitch—up deals. interesting words from john mcdonnell, suggesting a crabby stitch up. i am told the meeting with the unions peas stitch up. i am told the meeting with the union— stitch up. i am told the meeting with the unions was fairly cordial, exce it with the unions was fairly cordial, except they _ with the unions was fairly cordial, except they couldn't _ with the unions was fairly cordial, except they couldn't reach - with the unions was fairly cordial, except they couldn't reach any i with the unions was fairly cordial, i except they couldn't reach any kind of conclusion to give keir starmer what he wanted, so he is now facing a big choice. does he delay his proposals, or does he risk a very likely defeat at the labour conference, and then potentially overshadowing the other messages and policies he wants to communicate? interestingly, though, he did get some support from ed miliband. you might think of course he would come he is in his shadow cabinet but don't forget, ed miliband when he was labour leader introduced the current system, and scrapped the type of system that keir starmer wanted to reintroduce. but this was his justification for backing his leader. keir is right, it's his prerogative and i support him in— doing it, to come forward with i proposals and as i say, we are a democratic party and the party will take its view on it. - so ed miliband saying effectively it is a democratic party, so a wider group of people will decide in the end, this won't be bounced through as any kind of stitch up, but it would complete reverse what he was trying to do in the first place. he said it was a way of actually opening up the party to a wider constituency. what keir starmer is suggesting is the way to do that is to give trade union members and mps a greater say. he also wants to make further changes as well into how mps are selected, but i think this is all going to be pretty controversial, and possibly detract from the message he wants to get across, that he is now far more in touch with working people, the key message of the forthcoming labour conference. :. .. message of the forthcoming labour conference. :. ~' , :, message of the forthcoming labour conference-— message of the forthcoming labour conference. . ,, :, ., conference. thank you. good to hear ou have conference. thank you. good to hear you have all — conference. thank you. good to hear you have all that _ conference. thank you. good to hear you have all that clearly _ conference. thank you. good to hear you have all that clearly explained. i a bit ofa a bit of a theme emerging this afternoon, as far as energy companies are concerned. we have been talking about the soaring cost of prices, and on domestic supply. igloo, it has 100,000 customers. they are "pausing sales activity", so they have not collapsed, not calling in administrators, they have just asked an adviser to help. they say they are not signing up any new customers to their service. this means they are simply not able to make enough money, given they are locked into many deals with customers, and the energy price caps means they cannot increase how much they charge customers to make up for they charge customers to make up for the rise in their costs of sourcing that gas in the first place. now this of course hot on the hills, if you have been with us, we have told you have been with us, we have told you avro energy, it supplies around 580,000 customers, it has said it will exit the market, it will go under, and also at the same time we have heard from geren energy, they have heard from geren energy, they have 250,000 customers. taken together, i make that about 600,000 customers so far this afternoon that are now facing a future with a new supplier. ofgem, the energy regulator, will automatically move those accounts to a new provider, probably one of the big six, the six largest organisations that are seen to have a bit more stability. but nonetheless, your account, if you are with either igloo, we are led to believe, avro and green may move to a new provider, but the difference with igloo, they say they are not taking on new customers, avro and green have collapsed as a result of the soaring gas prices. it feels like there could be more to come. it hasjust like there could be more to come. it has just turned ten to four. calls to national stammering helplines have doubled since the start of the pandemic — according to the michael palin centre for stammering and the charity "stamma." the organisations say an increase in referrals throughout the pandemic — is partly due to increased anxiety and the impact of talking on online platforms, which can put people who stammer on the spot. with me is 5 live presenter hayley hassall. she has a stammer, and has been investigating the effect of lockdown on people who stammer. also, i'mjoined by william laven, who also has a stammer, and recently created a podcast to help share other people's stories. welcome to you both. it is so nice to have you with us this afternoon. hayley, let me start with you, look, there is a lot of misconceptions about stammers, so maybe over the next few minutes we can help resolve some of those and make things a little clearer, butjust talk to me about you growing up, when you first became aware you had a stammer and how you dealt with it.— how you dealt with it. hello. i was about four — how you dealt with it. hello. i was about four years _ how you dealt with it. hello. i was about four years old _ how you dealt with it. hello. i was about four years old when - how you dealt with it. hello. i was about four years old when my i how you dealt with it. hello. i was i about four years old when my parents realised i had a stammer, and it was pretty bad during those years. i couldn't get help from the mhs until i was about nine or ten, because back then —— from the nhs, because back then —— from the nhs, because back then —— from the nhs, because back then they had the idea that most children grew out of it, so didn't want to interfere until then. so there was a time when i got bullied at school, life was pretty hard for me, i never put my hand up in class, i didn't want to answer questions or stand up on stage or read out loud. i did have amazing parents, and my mum noticed that when i sang, and when i acted, i didn't have a stammer. so my mum introduced me to theatre groups, speech and drama classes, i was in shows, and that increased my confidence, which meant that i felt i was able to go and talk about my stammer. so when i was in year six, that's about ten years old, everyone had to do a speech in the class, and i did a speech about my speech, and i did a speech about my speech, and i stood up in front of the whole school and i talked about my stammer. and from then on, i felt like i had the ability to talk about it. ithink like i had the ability to talk about it. i think one of the massive problems we found, and lockdown has had an effect on this, is people don't talk about it, they hide away, get more introvert, and the stammer gets more difficult to deal with. i think the best thing we can do is talk about having a stammer, and just say, look you may have to bear with me, or my sentence might take a bit longer, but do you know what, because it is more difficult for me to talk, what i'm going to say is going to be worth it. so please listen, because i have got something to say. listen, because i have got something to sa . ~ :. listen, because i have got something to sa . . . , listen, because i have got something tosa. . , to say. william, i can see you noddinr to say. william, i can see you nodding along _ to say. william, i can see you nodding along to _ to say. william, i can see you nodding along to what - to say. william, i can see you nodding along to what hayleyj to say. william, i can see you i nodding along to what hayley is saying, and interestingly she has pointed out that school was one of the things that got her up speaking, but it is not the same for everyone. school can be a pretty difficult place if you have a stammer. t school can be a pretty difficult place if you have a stammer. i found school quite — place if you have a stammer. i found school quite tough _ place if you have a stammer. i found school quite tough with _ place if you have a stammer. i found school quite tough with my - place if you have a stammer. i found | school quite tough with my stammer, so because _ school quite tough with my stammer, so because my name is william, my name _ so because my name is william, my name is _ so because my name is william, my name is to— so because my name is william, my name is to be at the end of the register, — name is to be at the end of the register, so people would say their namas— register, so people would say their names really quick and snappy, then i names really quick and snappy, then i would _ names really quick and snappy, then i would say— names really quick and snappy, then i would say my name, and the whole room _ i would say my name, and the whole room would — i would say my name, and the whole room would go silent, and those few seconds _ room would go silent, and those few seconds would feel like minutes because — seconds would feel like minutes because you feel everyone looking at you, though you know they are not, but also _ you, though you know they are not, but also kids— you, though you know they are not, but also kids are very direct. they were _ but also kids are very direct. they were like. — but also kids are very direct. they were like, what is wrong with your voice. _ were like, what is wrong with your voice. why— were like, what is wrong with your voice, why can't you say your name properly? _ voice, why can't you say your name properly? and it was always so tough, — properly? and it was always so tough, doing presentations, because you always— tough, doing presentations, because you always free thinking about not only what — you always free thinking about not only what the presentation might be about— only what the presentation might be about lrul— only what the presentation might be about but also how your stammer will react in— about but also how your stammer will react in that _ about but also how your stammer will react in that situation. it is always— react in that situation. it is always at— react in that situation. it is always at the forefront of your brain — always at the forefront of your brain. : �* . always at the forefront of your brain. : v :. .. always at the forefront of your brain. : �*, ., ,, ., always at the forefront of your brain. : �*, ., :, brain. and let's talk about today's sto , brain. and let's talk about today's story. which _ brain. and let's talk about today's story. which is— brain. and let's talk about today's story, which is the _ brain. and let's talk about today's story, which is the idea _ brain. and let's talk about today's story, which is the idea that i brain. and let's talk about today's story, which is the idea that calls | story, which is the idea that calls to national helpline is doubling since the start of the pandemic. hayley, wire, maybe it is about speaking on a video call, you turn on the laptop and there is a lot of faces and you are suddenly right in front of them. that can't help, but talk me through some other reason by the pandemic has made it much worse. i have spoken to lots of people who had a stammer and every single one of them have told me it has got more difficult during lockdown. various different reasons, heightened anxiety is one of them. another reason is the video call, as you say, because as you can imagine, you are sort of looking at yourself, which is quite off—putting, and it is all about the audio. you know in a general conversation when you are usuallyjust a general conversation when you are usually just chatting a general conversation when you are usuallyjust chatting and you but in and when it is on zoom, everyone is staring at you and all they are concentrating on is the words you are using. similarly with a facemask, when i wear a facemask, because i wear —— because i stammer, i tend to make a lot of gestures and use my facial expression is a lot because i feel it attracts away from your words. because i feel it attracts away from yourwords. but because i feel it attracts away from your words. but when you have a facemask, all you have as your words and that is quite a daunting feeling. put that together with the fact that for 18 months a lot of people have been isolating or staying away from groups. you are then told you have to go back into work, you've got to do a meeting, a presentation, speak in front of a lot of people. that is all of a sudden such a big deal. and then you've got the anxiety that it has had on children. a lot of the charities i have spoken to have told us that the majority of these calls and referrals come from worried parents, because children are anxious at the moment. they have taken away their structure and all of a sudden that can sometimes come out in a stammer. what i want to say to those kids and anyone else listening is that it's ok to have a stammer. just go with it. explain to people that sometimes it takes you longer to talk, and if you have to wear a facemask or you have to do it on zoom, try and extend to people what situation is, because i think, as a journalist, sometime showing my vulnerability actually helps other people talk to me. i get really good interviews that way. think actually it is really nice for people to share some times what's on. 3de share some times what's on. and william, share some times what's on. and william. i — share some times what's on. and william, i want _ share some times what's on. and william, i want to _ share some times what's on. and william, i want to talk about that professional setting, because we talk about the impact at school, but the network, and particularly as we said over the last 18 months, a lot of work conversations have been done on video call for example. how have you found it in the workplace —— the workplace, how has your employer dealt with it and been able to help you and i suppose what advice would you and i suppose what advice would you have anyone else who is on a video call with someone who has a stammer about what they should do and how they might help to make it a little bit easier? mi; and how they might help to make it a little bit easier?— little bit easier? my team are very su aortive little bit easier? my team are very supportive about _ little bit easier? my team are very supportive about my _ little bit easier? my team are very supportive about my stammer, i little bit easier? my team are veryl supportive about my stammer, and little bit easier? my team are very i supportive about my stammer, and the scary thing _ supportive about my stammer, and the scary thing is _ supportive about my stammer, and the scary thing is doing job interviews, because _ scary thing is doing job interviews, because sometimes stammering can come _ because sometimes stammering can come across as nerves, so you don't want _ come across as nerves, so you don't want to— come across as nerves, so you don't want to feel— come across as nerves, so you don't want to feel like you are being misconceived because of your nerves, rather— misconceived because of your nerves, rather than _ misconceived because of your nerves, rather than it— misconceived because of your nerves, rather than it is actually your stammer. _ rather than it is actually your stammer, which is you. since working from home, _ stammer, which is you. since working from home, my stammer is better when i'm from home, my stammer is better when i'm sociable, _ from home, my stammer is better when i'm sociable, so when i'm at the office _ i'm sociable, so when i'm at the office hiy— i'm sociable, so when i'm at the office my stammer is ship temperatures are struggling in the far north, 11 in lowick and 23 in london, try and find it in the weekend and one for the time being. this is bbc news, i'm ben thompson. the headlines... avro energy and green become the latest energy suppliers to go out of business as a spike in gas prices puts pressure on the sector. it comes only hours after the head of energy regulator we can't make predictions as to how that will play out. no trade deal in sight with the us but the prime minister has announced that america will lift its ban on british lamb, for the first time in decades. the kebabs, the lamb burgers, the koftas of the people of the united states will be supplied at last by britain and fantasticjuicy cuts of welsh lamb and everything else. a catalogue of errors that led to thousands of people, mostly women, being underpaid by a billion pounds in state pensions. a high court injunction to stop the protestors who've been causing chaos on the m25 — they could now face imprisonment. lava continues to flow from a volcano on the spanish island of la palma, damaging hundreds of homes. there are fears it could cause explosions when it meets the sea. hello and a warm welcome to bbc news. it is four o'clock. two energy suppliers, avro and green, have become the fourth and fifth firms to go out of business as soaring gas prices continue to put pressure on the market. the boss of the uk's energy regulator, ofgem, says "well above" hundreds of thousands of customers will have to be moved to new suppliers as more firms go bust due to the spike in wholesale gas prices. ofgem said it would ensure that the 580,000 customers who have their gas and electricity supplied by avro and the 255,000 households with green would be protected and should wait to be contacted by their new supplier. it means in total 1.3 million customers have now been affected by the crisis. they have seen that supplies go bust in the last fortnight. and in the last few minutes, the energy company igloo said it is working with restructuring consultants but has not appointed administrators. speaking to mps just hours before both firms announced they would cease trading, the boss of the uk's energy regulator, ofgem, said he expected more firms to go bust, with huge numbers of people affected. gas prices are almost six times the level it was last year and indeed, it rose 70% in august. so we are in unprecedented cost territory. i'm afraid there are many factors that have contributed to that, including an increase in international demand, potentially some restrictions around supply, so it's very hard to predict how long that will last. the sector has faced shocks and in fact we have talked about how we managed through the covid crisis which had a big impact on the energy sector overall but when you see that change, and i encourage you to have a look at the change in gas price, it really is something we don't think we have seen before, at this pace. we have seen exit from this market before, we have had up to double digit numbers of companies exiting the market at a time so it's not unusual for supplies to go out of the market. i think what is different this time is the dramatic change in costs the suppliers are facing. we have had around, you know, we have had five roughly over the past few months, a number more at the start of the year. we do expect more, we expect more to not to be able to face the circumstances we are in but it's genuinely hard to say more than that, partly because that means predicting what may happen to the gas price. what i want to say here is this is a significant impact on the sector and it's something we are working with government to manage but we can't make predictions as to how it will play out. speaking to the same committee, the business secretary, kwasi kwarteng, said prices were only going to to rise in the long term. the price has spiked considerably, i've got a chart in front of me, i think it's quadrupled in the last six months, seven months. and you would expect normally that the price would revert to the mean. it's not something we think will be sustainable but of course, mrjones, we have to prepare for a longer term high prices. the shadow business secretary, ed miliband, said ministers would need to decide how to deal with energy customers whose suppliers collapsed, because other companies wouldn't be able to take them on. i'm afraid what it shows is that kwasi kwarteng in the last few days has been far too complacent about this situation because in the house of commons on monday, i think your political correspondent mentioned what the prime minister said on this, we have in the normal course of events energy suppliers exiting the market but we're not in the normal course of events, we are in a deeply serious situation and one of the things the government needs to do it to start levelling with people about the scale of the emergencies that we face. i don't mean in terms of security of supply but the suppliers going bust. is it going to require taxpayer money to stabilise the market? if so, how is that money going to be used and how are we going to get value for money on this? i'm afraid they are complacent in this situation in relation to suppliers and your news you broke illustrates this and are doing the wrong thing when it comes to the cost of living crisis facing so many families. i want to focus on energy suppliers themselves and we will come onto the cost of living in a moment, a couple of lines in this statement we have had from green energy who are quitting the market. "market conditions are unprecedented, it is putting up the cost above the energy price cap," limiting how much they can charge. they say they are selling energy to customers at a loss and that it is unprecedented and therefore they are ceasing to change. how would you fix this? i think the first thing you need to do is keep the energy price cap because it is an essential protection for your viewers, for consumers up and down the country. you then need to look at what resources will be required to stabilise the market because you don't want to end up with just six energy companies at the end of all this. what resources will be required to stabilise the market and what vehicles should customers, for example the green energy customers, what vehicle should they go into? should they be absorbed back into the big six energy suppliers? i'm quite sceptical about putting taxpayer's money towards the big six energy suppliers so they can concentrate their share of the market. should we look at a public option, for example, so you would have a separate option where those customers were housed until the market stabilised and they could be reabsorbed into other companies? i think that is why i say to you, until the government levels with us about the scale of the crisis and what ofgem are saying to them about it, it's hard to know what the scale of resources are going to be needed and what we do. and given how unprecedented this situation is, i wonder if by the end of the year we will be left with just a big six and that means, we have been constantly told that's not enough competition, they essentially have a monopoly position in the market, it proves the energy market doesn't work for customers. it isn't working, you are right, and there are a longer term issues. that is why i draw to attention to the idea of a public option. when one of the rail companies goes bust for example, it ended up in a public entity. then you can decide if you keep that entity in public hands or let conditions stabilise, send it back to private sector but that is a down the road question. you might decide it's better to house those customers in a public entity and then they be reabsorbed into the market down the road — it might protect taxpayer money better but i don't think we want to end up withjust six supplies. i would also say, why are we in this position? of course there is a global issue here but i'm afraid it's decisions of the last decade coming home to roost. it's not doing energy efficiency, which is the best way of managing energy demand. it is not doing the gas storage which is a crucial protection for our country. it is not moving fast enough on renewables. all of those things have contributed to our vulnerability as a country, which i'm afraid is playing out and it is customers and businesses who are paying the price. shadow business secretary ed miliband. our business correspondent alice baxter is in west london. avro and green energy going bust softening, not hugely unexpected but a significant impact those customers.— a significant impact those customers. , �* customers. absolutely. between the two of them, — customers. absolutely. between the two of them, avro _ customers. absolutely. between the two of them, avro and _ customers. absolutely. between the two of them, avro and green - customers. absolutely. between the two of them, avro and green energyj two of them, avro and green energy had more than 800,000 customers who will now be switched over to new suppliers, on new tariffs and those tariffs might be more expensive than what they were used to. as your previous guests were alluding to, the bigger question is why is the consumer in this position? yes, the energy sector has faced this unprecedented six fold rise in the wholesale cost of gas. but the question is, why were these smaller energy companies not mandated to hedge against these risks, which the bigger gas companies did do? and the following question to that is does that then mean the consumer is going to be left with just the choice of the big six again? we have seen this proliferation of small and medium—sized energy companies over the last few years which were designed to give the consumer greater choice, to inject an element of competitiveness into the market but is that now all going to disappear? all the noises we have been hearing afternoon from the boss of ofgem, the business and energy secretary, that there will be more small energy companies going bust. this is a wait—and—see moment. i think we will hear more on this, avro and green energy are not the end of this. avro and green energy are not the end of this-— avro and green energy are not the end of this. : :, ., :, end of this. and on that note, igloo have said they _ end of this. and on that note, igloo have said they are _ end of this. and on that note, igloo have said they are not _ end of this. and on that note, igloo have said they are not taking i end of this. and on that note, igloo have said they are not taking on i end of this. and on that note, iglool have said they are not taking on new customers so it's not going bust, not calling in administrators, but it's not taking on new customers and calling in restructuring advisors. they are another, 100,000 customers, they look a bit shaky right now. absolutely right. igloo have not gone bust yet but they are in shaky territory but avro and green energy joining peoples energy, utility point, pf the energy and money plus energy, or going bust. bulb, the uk's six largest energy company, with 1.7 million customers, they are also seeking financing, we are being told. i think all of the bigger questions are going to have to be asked in the wake of this sixfold increase and the rise of wholesale gas which is why we are in this predicament. it is an unforeseen event, yes, but issues can guard ourselves against here in the uk. was this a failure of regulation? that is what many people are asking the pond white was it that these smaller companies were not mandated by ofgem to hedge against this global rise in wholesale gas price? that hedging could go hand—in—hand with the energy price cap which was put in place injanuary 2019 which some critics have pointed to, say perhaps that price cap is the reason we are seeing these companies going bust. but representatives from the government including the energy and business secretary, kwasi kwarteng, have said no, the fact the price cap is in place is a good thing and it prevents these huge spikes in prices being passed on to the consumers though those two things could go hand in hand but even despite the price cap, we have heard this afternoon rowntree foundation saying that because the price cap is reviewed every six months, by october, low income households could be facing energy price rises of as much as 12%. be facing energy price rises of as much as 1296-— much as 12%. and we will keep a close e e much as 12%. and we will keep a close eye on _ much as 12%. and we will keep a close eye on what _ much as 12%. and we will keep a close eye on what happens i much as 12%. and we will keep a close eye on what happens next. thank you for now, alice baxter with the latest on those energy firms that have gone bust, and the third, igloo, which says it will not take on new customers. let's have a look at what happens when your supplier goes bust. don't panic — you will not stop receiving gas and electricity. it will continue to be supplied in the same way. your account will be moved to a new supplier by energy regulator, ofgem, although this may take a few weeks. unfortunately, you may end up on a more expensive tariff if you are switched to a new supplier. they are not forced to on at the same terms and conditions as the one you are signed up for it which went bust so you might end up paying more. as alice mentioned, when the price cap is looked at again later in the year, there could be further complications as a result of that. more details as always on the bbc website. the environment secretary, george eustice, has said that food and drink companies are aware they'll have to pay more for the carbon dioxide they use in production — but inisted that any price rise for consumers would be negligible. last night, the government said millions of pounds in taxpayer money was being given to the main producer of co2 to restart production which it halted because of the huge rise in wholesale gas cost. let's speak now to retail analyst catherine shuttleworth. nice to see you. we know that co2 production has begun again, it could take a few days for it to start getting back to the levels it was at before and it has a huge knock—on effect for the food supply chain so talk about the immediate short term, what effect could that have? tt taritt what effect could that have? it will have an effect _ what effect could that have? it will have an effect in _ what effect could that have? it will have an effect in terms _ what effect could that have? it will have an effect in terms of - what effect could that have? it will have an effect in terms of closing i have an effect in terms of closing down supply a bit. it will mean there might be some short—term shortages in terms of products getting to supermarkets. what it means is the cost of producing the items we consume every day will go up. the retailers and the suppliers are working hard to make sure those cost increases do not get passed on but i think it is inevitable. listening to what george eustice said, those prices will go up and the people who will pay for that are the people who will pay for that are the shoppers. stand the people who will pay for that are the shoppers-— the shoppers. and that's the problem. — the shoppers. and that's the problem, we're _ the shoppers. and that's the problem, we're being - the shoppers. and that's the problem, we're being told i the shoppers. and that's the i problem, we're being told that energy bills will go up for gas electricity, particularly gas, and we will see more of that as we approach winter when we use more energy, and potentially food prices go energy, and potentially food prices 9° up energy, and potentially food prices go up and availability might be limited so it could be an expensive autumn and winter this year. certainly. we saw inflation going up last week and food inflation went up by about 1.3% but it's creeping up all the time. i think we will see a period of increased inflation. we are starting to realise how complex the food supply chain is, how many people are involved and how much costis people are involved and how much cost is involved and as shoppers we are not used to seeing prices going up, ifanything are not used to seeing prices going up, if anything we're used to supermarkets cutting prices and dropping them down so it's difficult for us to cope with. but i think the concern for most working families in the uk is that it is a lot of their family budgets that have been affected by these price rises and all little bits add up to quite a few increases just at the time that thurlow is ending and in a period of time when most families are trying to eke out their family finances going into christmas and make the best of things —— that thurlow is ending. is a worrying time. —— the fellow scheme. ending. is a worrying time. -- the fellow scheme.— ending. is a worrying time. -- the fellow scheme. and it's always there is on the lowest _ fellow scheme. and it's always there is on the lowest incomes _ fellow scheme. and it's always there is on the lowest incomes who - fellow scheme. and it's always there is on the lowest incomes who feel. is on the lowest incomes who feel this the most.— this the most. absolutely, the reo . le this the most. absolutely, the people who — this the most. absolutely, the people who might _ this the most. absolutely, the people who might not - this the most. absolutely, the people who might not have i this the most. absolutely, the | people who might not have had this the most. absolutely, the i people who might not have had the benefit fixed energy prices and do not have as much choice and ability to shop around, perhaps because they don't have access to a car, they will find it tougher, but there are loads of families in the uk who are just about managing and finding ways to get through and i think they will feel fairly beaten after a period of time in the pandemic when it has been tough anyway for most families. it's not over yet and you also have the people with the universal credit cut looming as well. i think these are difficult times for most households across the uk and we sometimes hear about people who have had a good pandemic and financially have done well but i think most normalfamilies are have done well but i think most normal families are looking as though they are coming to christmas, what we call the golden quarter, the last 12 weeks before christmas where we all spend more, more on food, entertainment, gifts. it's all coming at the wrong time of year, just when we want to be giving good news financially, not what feels like some bad news every day. 3de t like some bad news every day. and i am interested _ like some bad news every day. and i am interested in _ like some bad news every day. and i am interested in that _ like some bad news every day. and i am interested in that we _ like some bad news every day. and i am interested in that we talk a lot about shopping around to get a better deal so whether that is food or energy supplier, and what has been laid really bear right now with the collapsible of these energy firms is that competition in certain markets doesn't work and the race to the bottom on price doesn't always work because some of those other firms are going under. and also customers will now be pretty reluctant to shop around because they wonder why they would move to a company that could go under so it doesn't work any more. tta company that could go under so it doesn't work any more.— company that could go under so it doesn't work any more. no we have to have a different _ doesn't work any more. no we have to have a different discussion _ doesn't work any more. no we have to have a different discussion about i have a different discussion about what is the right thing to do around specifically utilities and particularly carbon dioxide. i don't think people would have realised how limited our supply of carbon dioxide was, how few companies run that supply chain. i think you are right, we have always talked about shopping around being a great thing to do and around being a great thing to do and a lot of people have talked about that, saying you must do it and go on this website and find different ways to do it but i think a lot of people will feel high and dry now and will be wanting to go with companies that they believe are in it for the long time, they are secure and will look after them. and i think in utilities, that's a big issue. in the food businesses, we have a very competitive food market in the uk with the supermarkets some of the biggest businesses in the uk, the biggest taxpayers, and i think they will try to support customers where possible but we are all starting to ask a few questions about who we buy our goods and services from and perhaps in the long term that's a good thing. ts long term that's a good thing. is this enough of a shock to make us all aware of where our food comes from but you talked about how we have lost contact with where it comes from, how many people work in the supply chain, how quickly it is able to get to the supermarkets and what's involved in getting fresh milk, for example, into a supermarket? is it enough for us to all rethink the way that business is done, how much we pay for food, all rethink the way that business is done, how much we pay forfood, and appreciation that you have to pay a bit more but it's good to protect the supply chain? t bit more but it's good to protect the supply chain?— bit more but it's good to protect the supply chain? i think so. this is the time _ the supply chain? i think so. this is the time to _ the supply chain? i think so. this is the time to have _ the supply chain? i think so. this is the time to have that - is the time to have that conversation about where our food comes from what we should be eating as a nation as well and how we stay healthier and fitter, that's also a big discussion. i think we have to look at the supply chain, understand it in more detail and be prepared to pay more. what is difficult for consumers is i think it feels like we will do all of those things but are the big companies then making massive profits on the back of those decisions? one of the things that was laid bare more in the pandemic was laid bare more in the pandemic was how quickly we can get to a shortage in food in this country because we have adjusting supply chain and i think consumers, shoppers most of us feel like i understand that better than i ever did before i'm not prepared to go back there again. this is the time to have that conversation and we still want great value in everything we buy and anything that will change it if we start shopping differently. to do that, the retailers have got to listen to their customers and retailers are pretty democratic, you can choose where you shop every day and i think shoppers will start choosing to shop with businesses that they believe have a better function. ~ :. : that they believe have a better function. . . : , , that they believe have a better function. . . : , �* , function. watch this space, i'm sure we'll talk about _ function. watch this space, i'm sure we'll talk about it _ function. watch this space, i'm sure we'll talk about it again _ function. watch this space, i'm sure we'll talk about it again but - function. watch this space, i'm sure we'll talk about it again but thank i we'll talk about it again but thank you for now. the headlines on bbc news... avro energy and green become the latest energy suppliers to go out of business as a spike in gas prices puts pressure on the sector. it comes only hours after the energy regulator ofgem warned hundreds of thousands of customers will have to move suppliers. no trade deal in sight with the us but the prime minister has announced that america will lift its ban on british lamb, for the first time in decades. the uk has recorded 34,460 new covid—19 cases and a further 166 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test, according to government data. that is actually down from 203 deaths a day before so in the uk reporting 166, down from 203 on tuesday but as far as infections are concerned, they are up. infections on tuesday were 31,564 and today we are told there were 34,460 new covid cases in the uk. the united states is lifting its ban on imports of british lamb. the prime minister, who is in the us for talks with un leaders and presidentjoe biden, said it would mean british farmers can export to the us for "the first time in decades". but borisjohnson's hopes of a post—brexit free trade deal appear to be fading after mr biden played down the chances of an agreement last night. in a moment we'll hear from the prime minister on that latest deal but first our diplomatic correspondent james landale. this was boris johnson's first trip to the white house as prime minister — only the second time he has met the president in person. the relationship seemingly bound for now by a shared love of america's trains. you went down on amtrak? idid. you are a living deity at amtrak! i've travelled millions of miles. they love you! on travel, climate and security, there was much agreement, but on the prospects of a free trade deal between britain and the us, the president was downbeat. we are going to talk about trade a bit today and we are going to have to work that through. and crucially, he made it clear how any trade deal was dependent on the uk not unwinding the northern ireland protocol to the brexit deal. the protocols, i feel very strongly about those, we spent an enormous amount of time and effort in the united states, it was a major bipartisan effort made, and i would not at all like to see, nor, i might add, would many of my republican colleagues like to see a change in the irish accords, the end result having a closed border again. mrjohnson said nobody wanted to see the good friday agreement interrupted or unbalanced, and before his meeting with the vice president, remained optimistic about trade. i think on trade, we are seeing progress, the ban on beef, your curious ban on british beef has been removed, a wonderful thing, and the tariffs on scottish whisky, but, and there's a great deal of progress to be made and i hope we can make. we still want to do a trade deal with the united states. we would like to progress those discussions but obviously if it is not a priority for the biden administration at the moment, that is the position that we, that we understand. one idea being considered by ministers is britain instead trying to join an existing trade deal between the us, canada and mexico. but this was dismissed by some as unlikely. i serve on the committee that would have to vote on it, i haven't heard one word about that. it is not a subject that comes up here, it does sometimes in the context of northern ireland. aside from that, though, frankly it is not an issue that comes up. later today in washington, the prime minister will meet other members of congress and they matter because their votes will ultimately decide if the uk's ever to have a trade deal with the us. james landale, bbc news. mrjohnson said the us decision to import british lamb showed washington was keen to strike a trade deal with the uk. what we are going to get from the united states now is a lifting of the ban, the decades—old ban, totally unjustified, discriminating against british farmers, the ban on british lamb. we are going to be able to export british lamb to the united states for the first time in decades. it will be, the kebabs, the koftas, the lamb burgers of the people of the united states will be supplied, at last, by britain and fantasticjuicy cuts of welsh lamb and everything else. it's about time, too. and what we are wanting to do is make solid incremental steps on trade. the biden administration is not doing free trade deals around the world right now but i've got absolutely every confidence that a great deal is there to be done and there are plenty of people in that building behind me who certainly want to do one. that was the prime minister in washington. let's hear now from nick von westenholz, who is director of trade and business strategy at the national farmers' union. welcome to the show. the pi estate hailing this as an important deal, the first time in decades we can sell british lamb to the united states and good news for the industry i would imagine? tt states and good news for the industry i would imagine? it will be ve iood industry i would imagine? it will be very good news _ industry i would imagine? it will be very good news if _ industry i would imagine? it will be very good news if we _ industry i would imagine? it will be very good news if we resume i industry i would imagine? it will be i very good news if we resume trading lamb, are waiting for the details, at the prime minister said, it's been a long process in getting that decade—long ban lifted. there might still be a couple of final hoops to jump still be a couple of final hoops to jump through and we will wait to hear on that but if we can resume trading lamb to the us, that will be a really good win for uk farmers. can we rewind a bit? many people might be surprised there is a ban in place in the first place so why is it there, british lamb to the us? tt it there, british lamb to the us? tt goes back to the late 90s. it was on both beef and sheep products, at the time relating to bse and tses and the relegation is then changed in the relegation is then changed in the us that allowed them to categorise the uk in a new way that allowed the resumption of beef exports by doing the same for lamb has taken a long time, to be frank. the us have been moving very slowly. there is nothing wrong at all with our lamb, it is a fantastic product of course, but it's just a technical regulation and actually, what it does is remind us that much of the issues with trade across the world and where there are trade barriers are not to be with things like tariffs and duties, there to do with these technical regulations where you cannot send products and hopefully that will be resumed in the near future.— hopefully that will be resumed in the near future. absolutely, as you said, the devil— the near future. absolutely, as you said, the devil is _ the near future. absolutely, as you said, the devil is in _ the near future. absolutely, as you said, the devil is in the _ the near future. absolutely, as you said, the devil is in the detail i said, the devil is in the detail here. we don't know exact details of how this will work but i wonder how significant with expert speed to the us, assuming that everything gets the go—ahead? and talk to me about the go—ahead? and talk to me about the importance of the us market against, for example, the eu market. any new market will be gratefully welcomed by uk farmers so having access to the us will be important but we need to be realistic. the us don't eat a lot of lamb and the lamb they do it, a bit of domestic production but a lot comes from big players australia and new zealand and they are in those markets already and won't be shoved aside easily so it won't suddenly change things overnight for uk farmers but it is a new market which is important. as you said, compared to the eu market, it is very small. we have had a lot of problems in the last year, during this year, with exports into the eu because of the trade deal with the eu that came into effect at the beginning of the year and experts have dropped off very significantly. it is not really comparable to be honest, we need to resolve that relationship is an urgent priority but i don't want to take away the importance of the announcement if it really comes through and we can resume exports to the us. ., through and we can resume exports to the us. . , ., ., :, the us. that is what i wanted to get at, how important _ the us. that is what i wanted to get at, how important and _ the us. that is what i wanted to get at, how important and where - the us. that is what i wanted to get at, how important and where the i at, how important and where the government should be focusing attention in getting a deal to make it easierfor british attention in getting a deal to make it easier for british farmers. and crucially we are seeing a bit of rowing back from the ambition to get a bespoke trade deal with the us because we are told that's just not going to happen. what we should remember is that trade deals work to raise and the us could ask for a lot in return for a trade deal and that will make your members nervous —— they work two ways. there might be a reduction in food quality standards. there are a lot of potential concerns around eight us uk deal, and opportunities as well, let's not forget that but there are certainly concerns, last year we saw over a million people signed a petition saying that they did not want their food standards, their high standards of animal welfare and environmental protection, undermined by any of our future trade deals. in a way, the news today, particularly the prime minister saying he will not rush into a deal, it has to be the right deal, is very welcome, we've been saying all along there should be no deadline on doing these deals. they need to be the right deals and if they're not right, we shouldn't be doing them. stand they're not right, we shouldn't be doing them-— doing them. and if we look at the lamb deal specifically, _ doing them. and if we look at the lamb deal specifically, as - doing them. and if we look at the lamb deal specifically, as you i doing them. and if we look at the i lamb deal specifically, as you said, taking decades for it to be lifted but about five years for the detail to be ironed out, it really highlights how complicated some of these deals can be and that is just on one product? these deals can be and that is 'ust on one product?i on one product? yes, that's right, and it also — on one product? yes, that's right, and it also reminds _ on one product? yes, that's right, and it also reminds us _ on one product? yes, that's right, and it also reminds us that - on one product? yes, that's right, and it also reminds us that you i on one product? yes, that's right, | and it also reminds us that you can do these sorts of things even if they take time and are complicated outside of the free trade agreements that we have been trumpeted so loudly over the last couple of years. these are the important thing is that this is what the government should be focusing on, creating this access for our great british products abroad and removing some of those technical barriers which currently stand in the way. stand those technical barriers which currently stand in the way. and if the government _ currently stand in the way. and if the government is _ currently stand in the way. and if the government is now _ currently stand in the way. and if the government is now looking i currently stand in the way. and if| the government is now looking at where it needs to prioritise its focus, from what you've told me, you would say the european union is the key market right now? thei;t would say the european union is the key market right now? they shouldn't lose siiht key market right now? they shouldn't lose sight of— key market right now? they shouldn't lose sight of that. _ key market right now? they shouldn't lose sight of that. we _ key market right now? they shouldn't lose sight of that. we hear— key market right now? they shouldn't lose sight of that. we hear a - key market right now? they shouldn't lose sight of that. we hear a lot i lose sight of that. we hear a lot from the government about the great new trade deals it will do with countries overseas and we hope that from some of those they will be new opportunities for uk farmers but let's not forget this massive market, 450 million consumers, relatively affluent, on our doorstep, where as i said experts have frankly dropped off a cliff in the last 6—9 months and we need to make sure that it improved significantly if we are going to get the best from our trade relationships all over the world for uk farmers. relationships all over the world for uk farmers-— uk farmers. really interesting to hear from you — uk farmers. really interesting to hear from you this _ uk farmers. really interesting to hear from you this afternoon, i uk farmers. really interesting to i hear from you this afternoon, nick von westenholz who is director of trade and business strategy at the national farmers' union. as we have been telling you, lots of events happening in washington, dc, of course the prime minister there discussing that trade deal, and of course that announcement that we will be able to sell british lamb to the united states for the first time in decades, but at the same time the us president is hosting a virtual vaccine summit with leaders to provide more nations, and to prod them to follow the lead of the us, which has donated more doses than any other. he has been talking in the last few minutes about how many doses that us now has on order and will provide them to other companies, other countries around the world that are struggling to access the vaccines they need. to beat the pandemic here, we need to beat it everywhere, and i made and i'm keeping the promise that america will become the arsenal of vaccines, as we are the arsenal for democracy during world war ii. we have already shipped nearly 160 million doses to 100 countries, more than every other country has donated combined. america's donations of half a billion pfizer vaccines through covax that i announced in june have already begun to ship. today, i am announcing another historic commitment. the united states is buying another half billion doses of pfizer to donate to low and middle—income countries the world. this is another half billion doses that will all be shipped by this time next year. and it brings our total commitment of donated vaccines to over 1.1 billion vaccines to over 1.1 billion vaccines to over 1.1 billion vaccines to be donated. put another way, for every one shot we've administered to date in america, we have now committed to do three shots to the rest of the world. i want to thank pfizer and its ceo and chairman albert. albert has been a good friend and been helpful. they have continued to be partners and leaders in this fight, and the united states is leading the world on vaccination donations. as we are doing that, we need other high income countries to deliver on their own vaccine donations and pledges. that is why today we are launching the eu us vaccine partnership to work more closely together, and with our partners and expanding global vaccinations. and as we do so, we should unite around the world on a few principles, that we commit to donating, not selling, donating, not selling, doses to low and low income countries, and that the donations come with no political strings attached, and that we support covax as the main distributor for sharing who approved vaccines, and that we fight vaccine this information and exercise transparency to build vital public trust in these life—saving tools. it is also important that we are working towards common goals and targets, so we can measure our progress and hold each other and ourselves accountable. secretary of state blink and will be convening foreign ministers this year to check on our progress and i propose we come togetherfor a on our progress and i propose we come together for a second high—level virtual summit in the first quarter of 2022 to help gauge our progress and keep our efforts fully aligned. another goal is dramatically boosting global vaccine manufacturing capacity, enhancing transparency so that vaccine production and distribution is predictable and coordinated. in fact, an important part of the reason united states is able to make these important big historic donations is because we have worked with the vaccine manufacturers to accelerate the manufacturing rate and production, and now we are working quickly to scale up vaccine manufacturing in other countries around the world, so they can manufacture as well. we are working with partner nations, pharmaceutical companies and other manufacturers to increase their own capacity and capability to manufacture safe and highly effective vaccines in their own countries. for example, our quad partnership with india, japan and australia is on track to help produce at least 1 billion australia is on track to help produce at least1 billion vaccine doses in india to boost the global supply by the end of 2022, and we are providing financing and helping strengthen manufacturing in south africa, and produce more than 500 million doses ofj&j in africa for africa next year. next, we also know from experience that getting those vaccines into people's arms may be the hardest logistical challenge we face. that's why we need to significantly step up our investment in helping countries get shots in arms. today, the united states is also announcing they are providing an additional $370 million to support administering these shots and delivery globally, and we will be providing more than $380 million to assist in the global vaccine alliance, to further facilitate vaccine distribution in regions with the greatest need. and while vaccinating the world is the ultimate solution to covid—19, we know that we have to act to save lives now. that's why the united states is providing nearly $1.4 billion to reduce covid—19 deaths and mitigate transmission through bulk oxygen support, expanded testing and strengthening health care systems and more. and we are going to help all of us build back better by establishing a support of the financial mechanism for global health security to prepare for the next pandemic, because there will be a next time, we all know that. 5a a next time, we all know that. so the us presidentjoe biden there speaking about the vaccine programme to help low income countries around the world access the vaccine. that has been one of the very controversial elements of this, especially when we talk about administering boosterjabs, or third administering booster jabs, or third jabs, administering boosterjabs, or third jabs, to people in developed countries when many people around the world do not have access to a first jab. the world do not have access to a firstjab. joe biden telling us there that the us has only sent 160 million doses of vaccines 100 countries around the world to low and middle income countries. they now have 500 million extra doses on order to ship to low and middle income countries. they say that will be done by this time next year, by 2022. at the same time, they are also offering $370 million to administer those vaccines, because we know the roll—out, the logistics of the vaccine programme, can be very complicated, so that you are saying they will be providing $370 million to help administer vaccines in low and middle—income countries with the extra 500 million vaccines they now have on order those countries. we can get the latest now with our reporter in new york. it is good to see you. you were listening there, as i was, tojoe biden, looking at that vaccine roll—out, and his message really is to prod other countries, to say get involved, help roll out this vaccine, because until everyone is protected, no one is protected. yeah, that's absolutely right. he said in order to end this pandemic, we have to beat it everywhere, and he said to world leaders that half measures are just not going to work. with his americanism, we need all hands on deck, he told the leaders at this virtual summit, and essentially what he is saying is the fact he is donating more vaccines to the world it means for every shot an american gets, the us is donating three other vaccines to other countries, so he is saying it is very important those vaccines are donated, not sold, and that other high income countries get involved. in fact, he said they were launching today a new eu us vaccine partnership, so he's hoping that those will be some of the measures that will help. he understands or so it is a logistical challenge to get jabs in the arms of people around the world, it is notjust a matter of manufacturing, it is something the secretary general has spoken a lot about, the fact that vaccines often go expired or unused because often go expired or unused because of the lack of political will to make sure it is all properly rolled out. joe biden saying they will be donating hundreds of billions more to getting that access. but that really was an opening statement for the largest gathering we have seen yet, 18 months into this pandemic, of world leaders, civil society, of private sector companies coming together to discuss notjust how to end this pandemic but how to prevent the next one. and so later on we will also hear from the vice president kamala harris. she is trying to see if there is a way to set up a global health, a financial system to help build resiliency in the world and financing to prevent the world and financing to prevent the next pandemic. so very ambitious targets, to get 70% of the world vaccinated by the next un general assembly, but also an ambitious task for all of the countries there to step up and do even more than they have done so far. t step up and do even more than they have done so far.— have done so far. i mention in the introduction _ have done so far. i mention in the introduction there _ have done so far. i mention in the introduction there has _ have done so far. i mention in the introduction there has been i have done so far. i mention in the introduction there has been a i have done so far. i mention in the introduction there has been a lot. have done so far. i mention in the i introduction there has been a lot of criticism for developed countries around the world talking about boosterjabs or third around the world talking about booster jabs or third jabs, around the world talking about boosterjabs or third jabs, when booster jabs or third jabs, when many, boosterjabs or third jabs, when many, many countries have not had access to a first, an initialjab. will this go some way to ease that criticism, that developed nations are hogging vaccines?— criticism, that developed nations are hogging vaccines? yeah, that has certainly been — are hogging vaccines? yeah, that has certainly been one _ are hogging vaccines? yeah, that has certainly been one of— are hogging vaccines? yeah, that has certainly been one of the _ certainly been one of the criticisms, another one of the criticisms, another one of the criticisms has been that you have pharmaceutical companies holding up the waiver of international property protection, so that countries themselves can try to manufacture vaccines with that formula themselves to speed things up. it will be interesting to see if there is any movement on those two issues. presidentjoe biden for example mention the united states is working with johnson mention the united states is working withjohnson &johnson in africa to produce vaccines in africa, so it did seem as if he was trying to assuage some critics about the way manufacturing has been handled so far, because as you say, in africa, 90% of people there haven't even got their first dose of vaccine. so it is a summit that will no doubt touch on all of these issues, but whether it does deliver on some of those key priorities as the next big concern. thank you very much. environmental campaigners have been banned from blocking the m25, after the government successfully obtained a high court injunction to stop them. the group �*insulate britain�* have blocked parts of the m25 five times injust over a week. they�*re calling for more action on home insulation, but many drivers have been angered by what they�*ve done. the government says the protests have cost motorists half a million pounds. in the house of commons earlier, the home office minister kit malthouse said he believed the protests had gone too far and the government had been forced to take action. with our full support, national highways has now won an interim injunction to prevent protesters from occupying the m25. as colleagues will know, an injunction is a judicial order made, in this case, by the high court, which can either require someone to do something or to refrain from doing something. this injunction prohibits people from blocking, endangering, slowing down, obstructing or otherwise preventing the free flow of traffic on the m25. if they breach the injunction or encourage or help others to do so, people will be held in contempt of court and may be imprisoned orfined. the fine, mr speaker, is unlimited. this should act as a major deterrent and recognises that this lawbreaking is a serious, with consequences that match the offending. mr speaker, the police should be fighting crime in our neighbourhoods, not chasing activists across busy motorways. that is why we have taken this action now and we are working with national highways on obtaining a full injunction later this week. our home and legal correspondent dominic casciani has been at the high court today and gave me the latest earlier. what this injunction basically does is put _ what this injunction basically does is put the — what this injunction basically does is put the force of the court behind what _ is put the force of the court behind what the _ is put the force of the court behind what the police are already doing. about _ what the police are already doing. about 300 people have been arrested over the _ about 300 people have been arrested over the last week, in relation to insulate — over the last week, in relation to insulate britain's demonstrations on the m25_ insulate britain's demonstrations on the m25 and elsewhere, so about 130 of those _ the m25 and elsewhere, so about 130 of those in _ the m25 and elsewhere, so about 130 of those in the surrey part of the m25. _ of those in the surrey part of the m25, including this really major blockage — m25, including this really major blockage last night near the cobham area of— blockage last night near the cobham area of surrey, which helped block both lanes — area of surrey, which helped block both lanes of traffic and cause tailbacks— both lanes of traffic and cause tailbacks for miles, which the commission said was the cost of danger— commission said was the cost of danger of— commission said was the cost of danger of lives to life and limb. it has put _ danger of lives to life and limb. it has put the — danger of lives to life and limb. it has put the force of the court behind — has put the force of the court behind what the police are doing, because _ behind what the police are doing, because mrjustice lavender, has actually— because mrjustice lavender, has actually signed this order after an emergency application from the department for transport and national highways, has said that anybody— national highways, has said that anybody who takes part in a demonstration on the m25, its verges. — demonstration on the m25, its verges, its underpasses, its bridges, _ verges, its underpasses, its bridges, central reservation, basicalty— bridges, central reservation, basically anything to do with the motorway, anyone who locks themselves onto a part of the motorway or causes some kind of obstruction, anyone who actually leaves _ obstruction, anyone who actually leaves an— obstruction, anyone who actually leaves an item on the motorway to cause _ leaves an item on the motorway to cause an _ leaves an item on the motorway to cause an obstruction will now be in contempt — cause an obstruction will now be in contempt of court for doing so because — contempt of court for doing so because of the dangers presented to the public, _ because of the dangers presented to the public, and as a consequence they would — the public, and as a consequence they would be hauled before him, or another— they would be hauled before him, or another seniorjudge here at the hi-h another seniorjudge here at the high court, and face the risk of prison — high court, and face the risk of prison. now, the interesting thing about— prison. now, the interesting thing about that — prison. now, the interesting thing about that is effectively this is a double — about that is effectively this is a double whammy on the protesters, because _ double whammy on the protesters, because the 300 or so so far who have _ because the 300 or so so far who have been— because the 300 or so so far who have been arrested by the police, they have — have been arrested by the police, they have all been conditionally bailed. — they have all been conditionally bailed, as we understand it, and surrey— bailed, as we understand it, and surrey police have given me a statement, which has arrived injust a few— statement, which has arrived injust a few minutes actually, which says while _ a few minutes actually, which says while the — a few minutes actually, which says while the investigations continue, police _ while the investigations continue, police are — while the investigations continue, police are looking at a variety of possible — police are looking at a variety of possible offences, including public nuisance. — possible offences, including public nuisance, criminal damage and conspiracy— nuisance, criminal damage and conspiracy to cause danger to road users _ conspiracy to cause danger to road users so— conspiracy to cause danger to road users. so police have not ruled out criminal— users. so police have not ruled out criminal prosecutions here, but the court _ criminal prosecutions here, but the court is _ criminal prosecutions here, but the court is also — criminal prosecutions here, but the court is also saying even if the police — court is also saying even if the police don't act, there is now this order— police don't act, there is now this order in— police don't act, there is now this order in placing do not go on the motorway — order in placing do not go on the motorway. the group themselves this morning _ motorway. the group themselves this morning were saying they hadn't seen silht morning were saying they hadn't seen sight of— morning were saying they hadn't seen sight of this _ morning were saying they hadn't seen sight of this injunction, as far as they— sight of this injunction, as far as they are — sight of this injunction, as far as they are aware they are not on the motorways — they are aware they are not on the motorways at the moment but we do know they— motorways at the moment but we do know they have been on the road this afternoon _ know they have been on the road this afternoon outside the home office, one of— afternoon outside the home office, one of the — afternoon outside the home office, one of the department is involved in this injunction, making their voices heard, _ this injunction, making their voices heard, and — this injunction, making their voices heard, and as i understand it, the road _ heard, and as i understand it, the road there — heard, and as i understand it, the road there has been blocked by these protesters. _ road there has been blocked by these protesters, and they are saying they are not— protesters, and they are saying they are not going to give up until they .et are not going to give up until they get what — are not going to give up until they get what they call a meaningful response from the government on climate _ response from the government on climate change and on the need to insulate _ climate change and on the need to insulate homes. it is 13 minutes to five. the headlines. avro energy and green become the latest energy suppliers to go out of business as a spike in gas prices puts pressure on the sector. it comes only hours after the energy regulator ofgem warned hundreds of thousands of customers will have to move suppliers of thousands of customers will have to move suppliers. no trade deal in sight with the us but the prime minister has announced that america will lift its ban on british lamb, for the first time in decades. a man has appeared in court charged with the murders of a woman and three children in a house in killamarsh in derbyshire on sunday. our correspondent danny savage gave us this update. the man in question�*s name is damien bendall, 31 years old, he spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth. he has been held in police custody at the moment at ripley police headquarters in derbyshire. he is accused of murdering four people, terry harris, 35 years old, her daughter lacey bennett he was 11, john bennett, who was 13 years old, and another girl, connie gent, he was 11. she was lacey�*s friend and was staying at the house for a sleepover that night. there�*s bodies were found on sunday morning, which is when damien bendall was first arrested. police announced it was charged this morning. the court appearance has taken place today. we are some 30 miles away from chandos present where the bodies were found, and at the scene, people very shocked at the scene, people very shocked at the community, who have been leaving hundreds of flowers and messages at the scene, in memory of those three children and terry harris, who died there over the weekend. the next stage in the legal process surrounding damien bendall is that he was remanded in custody and he will now appear before derby crown court at about ten o�*clock on friday morning. more than 100,000 people, many of them women, have been underpaid a total of a billion pounds in state pensions. that�*s the finding of a report by the national audit office, which blames years of repeated mistakes and outdated computer systems at the department for work and pensions. sarah corker reports. for nearly a decade, irene from worcestershire was underpaid her state pension. she is one of thousands of women in their 70s and 80s who missed out on large sums of money because of government errors. i think it�*s scandalous. i think that the fact that you have to battle for something that�*s rightfully yours is awful, because i was lucky, i�*ve got richard to help me, but anybody who�*s a widow, and perhaps not financially up with it, and they�*re perhaps struggling on the breadline, it could make a tremendous difference. irene has now been paid the £7,000 she was owed, but it was a battle, and she is far from alone. these errors relate to married women who had small state pensions. they were eligible to claim 60% of their husband�*s contributions, but complex rules and errors by the dwp meant that for decades they were underpaid. the errors date back to 1985, affecting an estimated 134,000 pensioners, including some married women, widows and the over—80s. they are collectively owed more than £1 billion. the national audit office found there were repeated human errors over many years at the department for work and pensions, blamed on complex pension rules and unautomated outdated it systems. most of the people affected were women, not all but most. 90% of those that take this type of state pension lift are women, and unfortunately i'm afraid that many of them will have died before they receive the money they are owed, so actually, in a significant minority of cases, this money will go to their next of kin. the department for work and pensions said it is fully committed to ensuring the historical errors made by successive governments are corrected, and it�*s improved training to make sure it doesn�*t happen again. a team of 500 civil servants is now working to trace women like irene, who were short changed, but it will take years to complete. sarah corker, bbc news. a highly critical report from the uk prisons watchdog has identified a series of failings in the case of an 18—year—old inmate who lost her baby after giving birth alone in her cell. the prisons and probation ombudsman found staff at bronzefield�*s women�*s prison, who were responsible for her care, were unclear about the estimated due date, and were not aware she could give birth imminently. as the woman went into labour, she pressed her cell bell for help but no one responded. the report says she appeared to be regarded as �*difficult�* rather than vulnerable. the report says that while she was sort of regarded as being difficult, what she should have been regarded as was a vulnerable teenager who was frightened that her baby was going to be taken off air. now, the situation became very, very desperate indeed for this young woman, because no one in the entire system had herfull pregnancy record, and also no one on the block that she was on you that she might give birth imminently, so the night she went into labour, she pressed her sell belt twice. no one came. she then passed out with the pain, and when she woke up, her daughter had been born, but she realised the baby wasn�*t breathing and she realised the baby was dead. now, the next morning, a male prison officer went into her cell, and she was in bed, this is the teenager, and she pulled back the duvet, the prison officer could see the baby�*s head, and it wasn�*t clear whether the baby had lived for a short time or was stillborn. now today of course we have had apologies from the prison, the nhs, the newjustice secretary dominic raab. they have all said the recommendations in the report have been accepted, and the person behind the report, the prison ombudsman, sue mcallister, she did acknowledge frustration that there had been no internal disciplinary process, and she said every pregnancy in prison has to be regarded as high risk. lava flowing from the volcano that erupted last weekend on the the spanish island of la palma has now destroyed about 200 homes. there are fears that when the lava hits the sea, it will create toxic gases and explosions. danjohnson reports from la palma. it�*s possible the wind direction has changed today, because we are starting to see more ash falling in other places. this is la laguna, a villagejust outside the restricted zone. these are the roadblocks, where police are keeping people back from the villages that have been evacuated. occasionally, a few residents are allowed through, to get the last of their belongings. but in the main, there are more roadblocks and more roads that are disrupted because of where the lava is flowing. some roads have been completely smothered. others, the police have closed to keep people back. and you can see how much ash has fallen here and it is coming down the whole time. sometimes really fine volcanic dust, sometimes thicker particles. if i hold out my hand, you might be able to actually see it falling from the sky and landing. and that is happening continuously. that is why we�*ve got the masks and we�*ve also got eye protection as well. one other problem has been traffic jams, because of the amount of roads that are closed. the traffic is building up, with people trying to get through, and there is a risk that this side of the island actually gets cut off by the lava flow. that will probably happen at some point. so we are starting to see how everyday life is being disrupted here, and this eruption is causing problems notjust for the people whose homes are directly at risk. and the big question is how long will this last and what will the future impact be? we have seen banana plantations, which are the main source of industry here, we�*ve seen banana leaves covered in ash. will they be productive in future? that is one question. but for now, the emphasis is still on the volcano that continues to erupt, and the sky is looking a bit darker today, with that ash cloud continuing to spread particles right across the eastern and southern tip of la palma. willie garson, the actor best known for playing flamboyant talent agent finally this lunchtime, netflix has bought the roald dahl story company, giving the streaming business access to all of the late writer�*s works. more than 300 million copies of his books have been sold worldwide. netflix says new live action films and animated seriesin c about the oompa lumpas will follow. that is it from this pfg. let�*s speak to our very own problem. a bit taken aback by that. good afternoon, yes, aback by that. good afternoon, yes, a lot of quite late summer like weather around today, we saw a bit of mist and murk around, but it has been turning a bit windy across northern areas, the wind will pick up northern areas, the wind will pick up across some northern areas of scotland tonight. but many of us have been enjoying some blue sky and sunshine. this is the earlier satellite and radar picture. we have had quite a lot of sunshine across england and wales but a slightly different story for scotland and northern ireland. we have had cloud and rain pushing southwards. that process will continue as we head this evening and tonight. some clear spells further south, but showers forming into longer spells of rain across northern scotland, accompanied by increasingly strong winds, likely with gusts up to 65 mph. temperatures 11, 12 degrees in many places, it will be a relatively mild night, a mild start tomorrow morning. tomorrow, this frontal system fishing southwards, bringing cloud and some patchy rain. this next one bringing some rain in scotland, and behind thisjust briefly we get a hint of some colder air working its way in up from the north. so you will feel the effects of that across shetland, orkney, caithness and may be into parts of murray, aberdeenshire, quite a chilly day tomorrow especially first thing with a brisk wind. a lot of cloud to central and southern scotland, northern england and scotland, northern england and scotland, another strip of cloud down to the south, in between a slice of sunshine, part of wales, the midlands, may be through northern ireland in the afternoon, and in the sunniest spots up to 23 degrees, but across the shetlands, just ten or 11. however that really chilly air won�*t last very long. by friday, we get westerly winds back, that will bring some warmer conditions. quite a moist westerly flow, it will introduce a lot of cloud, introduce a of patchy rain across western scotland, northern ireland, baby north west england but the eastern and southern parts of the eastern and southern parts of the uk on friday, we should see some sunshine and is temperatures not bad at all for this point in september, 22, 23, may be 24 degrees across parts of the south. then for the weekend, high—pressure building to the east of us, low pressure squeezing in from the west. that will introduce a southerly wind, so that will maintain a relatively warm feel for the time of year. we could see some showers or longer spells of rain at times but for the most part it is going to be dry, with temperatures typically in the high teens or the low 20s celsius, and thatis teens or the low 20s celsius, and that is all from me for now. this is bbc news, i�*m ben brown. the headlines... avro energy and green become the latest energy suppliers to go out of business because of the spike in gas prices. it comes just hours after the energy regulator ofgem warned that hundreds of thousands of customers will have to move suppliers. this is a significant impact on the sector. it is something that we are breaking with government on, but we cannot make predictions about how that will play out. no trade deal in sight with the us but the prime minister says america will lift its ban on british lamb, for the first time in decades. the kebabs, the lamb burger is, the people _ the kebabs, the lamb burger is, the people of— the kebabs, the lamb burger is, the people of the united states will be supplied _ people of the united states will be supplied at last by britain, and fantastic— supplied at last by britain, and fantastic duty cuts